


A Little Bit Of Love And Joy

by Anonymous



Category: Queen (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Breastfeeding, Curse Breaking, Escape, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Morning Sickness, Mpreg, Past Rape/Non-con, Previous Miscarriage, Prophetic Visions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:47:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 7
Words: 53,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27547078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: In a castle surrounded by a deep moat on an island in a lake live the Queens.In their seclusion they have visions that help the King and his advisors to run the Kingdom.The Queens are revered throughout the Kingdom but little is really known about them.When Crystal arrives to take up his post as assistant to the Red Queen he finds that the truth about the position of the Queens is very different to what he had imagined.
Relationships: Chris "Crystal" Taylor/Roger Taylor
Comments: 38
Kudos: 31
Collections: Anonymous





	1. The Red Queen

Chapter One - The Red Queen 

“I don’t need a baby-sitter!” Roger objected, glaring in Crystal’s direction.

“Mr Taylor is your new assistant,” Mr Beach repeated massaging his temples as if he had a headache. Crystal thought that perhaps the headache was called Roger. 

“And you do need someone to look after you, Rog,” the tall curly haired one added, winning himself an exasperated glance from Mr Beach and a scowl from Roger who was Crystal’s new employer. Roger was Crystal’s new employer whether he liked it or not, apparently and it seemed he did not.

“I’m Mr Taylor,” Roger pouted, “He can’t be Mr Taylor too!”

“Well, he obviously can be, Rog,” the curly haired one scoffed. 

“Everyone calls me Crystal,” Crystal told them helpfully, wondering if he had done the right thing taking this job. He eyed Mr Beach and thought that perhaps he should have scrutinised the contract instead of just scrawling his signature at the end of it. 

Of course no one would have looked at the contract, Crystal thought. No one in their right minds would have turned down the opportunity to work with the Divination Queens. 

The four Queens were the power at the heart of the Kingdom, their prophetic visions used by the King and his advisers to help them to determine what actions to take on behalf of the people. Anyone would have been honoured to be offered the job. Crystal thought uneasily that no one would have been worried about the security and secrecy clauses. Naturally there would be security and secrecy clauses – the Queens were vital to the running of the Kingdom.

“Everyone calls me Miami,” Mr Beach informed him. 

Everyone introduced themselves except Roger. All of the Queens were present in Miami, the Colour Master’s office. Roger had his arms folded defensively across his skinny chest and was glaring at Crystal. 

Miami began to briefly outline Crystal’s duties. “Mainly to keep Roggie out of mischief, dear,” Freddie told him. Freddie was the Black Queen.

“Best of luck with that,” John, the Copper Queen, muttered. 

Miami mentioned that Crystal would be responsible for making sure Roger adhered to mealtimes and for walking with him each day. Brian, the curly haired White Queen explained, “He has a tendency to get lost.”

“I do not!” Roger exclaimed.

“He gets lost in his thoughts,” John suggested, adding, “And he finds following instructions challenging.” 

Everyone nodded in agreement with this apart from Roger who glared at them all in turn and ferociously denied it. “It’s a blatant lie,” he howled. 

“He gets cranky when he’s hungry,” John offered. 

“Everyone does!” Roger shrieked.

It sounded like having a particularly dopey pet, Crystal thought. His instructions seemed to boil down to feeding Roger and taking him for walks. How hard could it possibly be?

*

“I don’t need a baby-sitter,” Roger sulked as Crystal walked with him through the castle to their quarters. 

“Well, that’s good because I’m your assistant, not your baby-sitter,” Crystal told him. He thought perhaps he was Roger’s companion, really, given the description of his duties. He had been told his belongings would be waiting for him in the rooms assigned to him in Roger’s tower and hoped everything had arrived. Each of the Queens occupied one of the four towers of the Colour Castle. 

Roger gave him a knowing look. “That’s not how they see you. They’re breathing a collective sigh of relief because they’ve found some poor idiot to...mind me.”

“What’ve you done that has led them to believe that you need a minder?” Crystal asked, reflecting that minder was a sexier term than either baby-sitter or companion.

“Nothing,” Roger huffed, after a small pause. He led Crystal down draughty stone corridors in silence.

*

The remoteness was a drawback of the job, of course. The Queens lived in a castle surrounded by a deep moat. The King and his advisers came here, if necessary. The Queens did not leave therefore nor did their assistants.

The castle, surrounded by the protective moat, was on an island. The island had one bridge leading to it across the lake. The lake was circled by high hills with one pass leading through them.

The Queens needed peace and solitude in which to work. And their security was vital to the Kingdom so it made sense that their living arrangements were secure. It was a little like being imprisoned though, Crystal thought. But it was a luxurious prison Crystal reflected, as he looked around his new rooms with beautiful tapestries on the walls and a magnificent four-poster bed, the posts intricately carved. Roger sat on the bed and watched as Crystal unpacked. He did not speak. 

Roger -The Red Queen. 

The dramatic setting of the castle had been what he had expected, although he could see now how wrong the paintings he’d seen had been. The people, especially the Queens, were not what he had expected at all. 

Of course, there was tendency not to think of the Queens as people at all. They were powerfully magical and as such they were always depicted in an abstract way. The most human a painting of them was likely to get would be if it showed veiled figures. They were effectively blobs of colour as far as most of the population were concerned. 

The residents of the castle Crystal had seen so far were dressed perfectly normally in jeans and t-shirts or jumpers. No one was in ceremonial robes although the Colour Master, Mr Beach, Miami, had been wearing a suit. 

“What’s it like out there?” Roger asked suddenly, waving his hand towards the wall.

Crystal placed a neatly folded pile of t-shirts into a drawer and paused to consider this. “Life should be good,” he told Roger. “We have good harvests and the Kingdom has been at peace since before I was born. The inventors have made machines that make life less laborious for the non-magical. Yet the King demands higher and higher taxes. He builds palaces to spend the summer in and furnishes them ostentatiously. There are mutterings amongst the people that the King is too frivolous.”

Roger nodded. “The King is an empty headed idiot,” he remarked, “but he’s a sweet empty-headed idiot who brings lovely gifts when he comes to see us.” His face clouded over and Crystal wondered why.

“The lovely gifts are paid for by the people, no doubt,” Crystal muttered. 

“Everything’s paid for by the people, one way or another,” Roger told him, with a small, slightly sad, smile. 

*

Miami had explained to Crystal that all of the inhabitants of the castle met at mealtimes in the dining hall. “It’s very informal,” he had said. “There’s no need to get dressed up. The only formal dinners we have, when everyone does dress up, take place when there is a full moon.”

Crystal climbed the tower stairs at dinner time to knock on Roger’s door. He was not, of course, ready and waiting. Crystal waited while Roger finished drying his hair – he was scandalised by Crystal’s suggestion that perhaps he could just brush it and leave it as it was – and dithered over whether or not to wear a hat, although why he would need a hat inside was a mystery to Crystal. He eventually pulled on a cap that Crystal thought made him look like a consumptive urchin from a bygone age. “We need to leave now, please,” Crystal fretted. They were going to be late on Crystal’s first day on the job. What kind of impression would that make?

“You’re so bossy,” Roger complained. “You’re quite unnecessary. I’m perfectly capable of looking after myself.”

*

The dining hall was large, it’s vaulted roof supported by massive elaborately carved stone columns. The windows were diamond shaped and set with multi-coloured panes of glass. The sun was setting on that first evening when Crystal escorted Roger into the room and the light streamed through the coloured windows and lit the columns, the stone flagstones of the floor and the thick stone walls in all the colours of the rainbow.

Despite the size of the room there were not all that many people sitting at the two large wooden tables in the centre of the space. Roger reached out and took Crystal’s hand, towing him to one of the tables. “Budge up,” Roger requested cheerfully and everyone shuffled along the wooden benches to make room for them.

Crystal found he was between Roger and a kind-looking man who introduced himself as Phoebe. “I’m John’s assistant,” he explained. “If there’s anything you would like to know then just ask.”

Crystal wondered if Phoebe’s duties were the same as his: make sure your Queen is fed and take them for walks. He supposed he would soon find out. He was glad that he had met a friendly person who was in the same boat as him. 

Freddie was sitting at the top of this table. Brian was presiding over the other table. There were plates and cutlery set out at intervals along each table, in front of the castle’s occupants. Large containers sat in the middle of each table and Crystal assumed these held the food. Roger and Crystal had been amongst the last people to enter the room and once they had taken their places the door to the dining hall swung shut. Freddie and Brian each raised a hand, quite dramatically in Crystal’s opinion, and clicked their fingers. The lids lifted off the large containers in the centre of each table and the containers floated about so that everyone could easily ladle some of their contents on to their plates if they so wished. 

“You’ll get used to it,” Phoebe assured him in a low voice and Crystal realised he must have been staring and blushed.

Phoebe had kept his voice low so as not to embarrass Crystal but Roger had evidently overheard anyway. “Everyone always seems surprised,” he remarked. “Isn’t this what people do outside?” he asked.

“Well, most people have very basic magical powers or don’t have any magical powers,” Crystal said.

Roger looked sad. “I’d heard magic is declining.”

Freddie leaned forwards. “I’ve heard that magic is still there but it goes undeveloped in most people so it is still there but much weaker?”

“That’s possible,” Crystal nodded. “Most people can’t perform very much magic.”

“That’s very sad,” Freddie murmured. 

“Resurgence,” Roger murmured dreamily.

“Perhaps,” John nodded, adding, “eventually.” He was sitting across the table from Phoebe, his hair framing his face in soft waves.

*

“Has anyone shown you round the castle yet?” Phoebe asked as they filed out of the dining hall. “If not, then I could show you around now, if you’d like?”

“That’s a wonderful idea, Phoebs,” Roger answered for Crystal. 

“Yes,” Freddie agreed, linking arms with Roger. “Have fun, darlings. Don’t worry, Crystal, I’ll make sure Roger’s tucked up in bed at a reasonable time.” 

*

The middle of the castle housed the dining hall, the nearby kitchens, a library, a few reception rooms, each one grander than the last and the office of the Colour Master. Tucked away in a dark corner near the corridor that led to the kitchens was a door leading to what Phoebe referred to as the room of mystery. “We aren’t allowed in there,” he explained to Crystal as they stood outside its wooden door. The door had symbols carved into it some of which were painted copper or white or black or red. 

The symbols seemed to move as Crystal looked at them and he thought he saw a flash of green, which was his magical colour, but then he blinked and it was gone. Phoebe was looking at him with a curious expression. “Are you...?” Phoebe began then he halted and flushed. 

It was the height of bad manners to ask someone if they had magic and totally taboo to ask their colour. You were supposed to wait until the information was volunteered. “I have magic and my colour is green,” Crystal told Phoebe.

Phoebe gave him a little bow. “I also have magic and my colour is pale blue.” He glanced at the door. “I thought I saw a flash of green in the door, there,” he informed Crystal.

“I did too,” Crystal agreed. “Perhaps the room of mystery is saying hi.”

“Perhaps,” Phoebe nodded, looking doubtful. 

Four corridors led from the central part of the castle to each of the four towers. It was easy to tell which corridor led to which Queen as the walls were covered in gauzy fabric in the relevant colour. 

The bottom floor of each tower housed the castle staff. The assistants to the Queens lived on the middle floor and the Queens themselves lived on the top floor. Crystal frowned. “What happened to Roger’s previous assistant, then?”

“He’s never had an assistant before,” Phoebe told him, looking slightly shifty. 

“Why now?” Crystal asked.

“The others insisted,” Phoebe said. “Roger’s very sweet, though, and although he didn’t want an assistant I’m sure he’ll be very welcoming.” 

Crystal wished he was as certain as Phoebe. He asked if Phoebe knew why the others had insisted but Phoebe claimed not to know. Crystal suspected he did know or at least had some idea but he did not press the point. He asked instead who the other assistants were.

“Freddie and Brian share an assistant called Ratty,” Phoebe informed him. “Ratty lives in Brian’s tower and Miami in the assistant’s quarters in Freddie’s tower. Ratty’s very nice,” Phoebe added. 

Crystal nodded. “That’s good to know.”

*

They had a drink in Phoebe’s apartment. Phoebe’s rooms were furnished with much more modern furniture than Crystal’s. He could not help exclaiming in surprise. “Ah, yes, you have all that heavy wooden furniture, don’t you,” Phoebe nodded. 

“Can I change it?” Crystal wondered, although he suspected the answer was going to be no even before Phoebe shook his head. He sighed. “I expect I’ll get used to it.” 

Like Crystal’s own rooms Phoebe had a little kitchen area. “Everyone does tend to eat together in the dining hall but if there is an occasion when you want to be alone you can stay in your own quarters. The kitchen staff will fill the fridge for you and replenish supplies of tea or coffee or alcohol: just let them know if there is anything you would particularly like,” Phoebe explained. 

Crystal settled in a comfortable chair and sipped his drink. “Thank you for showing me around,” he said. “You’ve been very kind.” 

“I remember what it was like when I started,” Phoebe told him. “Do you have any questions?”

“What are the Queens like?” Crystal asked. “They seem ordinary but extraordinary at one and the same time.” 

Phoebe grinned. “That’s quite an apt description, actually.” He sipped his drink and considered the question. “Freddie’s quite flamboyant. More flamboyant than you’d expect from someone with black as their colour. He’s kind and generous although he does have a temper.” Phoebe smiled, “I’m afraid all of them have tempers!”

Crystal nodded. There was a saying about the Queens: one saw visions in water, one saw visions in fire, one saw visions in clouds and one saw visions all around. He wondered if it was rude to ask which one was which. “The saying...” he ventured cautiously. 

Phoebe snorted. “The saying is a load of bollocks. I mean, maybe it was true of a previous set of Queens but it isn’t true of our Queens.”

“How...?” Crystal halted, wondering if he could ask how their visions came to them. 

“I don’t know,” Phoebe said, “although I could guess, particularly for John and Freddie because I spend most time with them. I don’t know what sparks their collective visions either, I’m afraid.”

Crystal stared at him. He had not heard of the Queens having collective visions. “I didn’t know collective visions were a thing,” he croaked, gulping some of his drink. 

“There is some information in the library relating to previous sets of Queens,” Phoebe told him, “and it suggests that most sets have had both individual and collective visions. Some of them also seem to have paired visions and I think our set fall into that category. Red and Copper are paired and Black and White. There also seems to be at least one historical set of male Queens, like ours and possibly a mix of males and females in at least one previous set. Within living memory, however, all the Queens have been female until now.” 

Crystal had also not known that there had been other male sets of Queens. There had been much speculation over whether male Queens would be up to the job when they had taken over from the Gold, Green, Purple and Blue Queens. 

“What happens to the old Queens?” Crystal asked. 

Phoebe shrugged. “I don’t know,” he replied. He looked shifty again and Crystal thought he did know, particularly when he added, “The boys are so sweet...” He sighed. 

*

Crystal met Roger at the foot of the stairs leading up to their rooms. Roger also appeared to have had a few drinks and flung his arms around Crystal. “Bedtime!” he declared. “I’ll be ready and waiting for you to take me to breakfast tomorrow!”

*

I am not taking any responsibility for keeping him clean,” Crystal told Miami at breakfast the following morning. Roger was dressed entirely in white.

“Fair enough,” Miami nodded.

“I’m not a child,” Roger protested. He looked around, took Crystal’s hand again and led him to Brian’s table this time.

Brian eyed Roger. “You might have dressed,” he grinned. “I know we’re very informal but nightwear is a bit inappropriate!”

“Oh, fuck off,” Roger said. “It’s going to be hot. This is a sensible outfit.” 

“I still think it looks like pyjamas,” Brian snorted. 

Crystal was more prepared for the floating plates this time. The food was plentiful and good. He ate hungrily.

Roger still looked pristine once he’d finished breakfast and gave Crystal a little smug look. “You may take me out for my walk now,” he informed Crystal primly. 

*

To Crystal’s surprise, Roger took his hand and led him back to their tower. Crystal assumed Roger had forgotten something and wished to retrieve it before their walk as they entered Roger’s set of rooms. “I have to show you our escape route,” Roger told him.

“Escape route?” Crystal echoed. 

“There have been times, admittedly not recently, when the Queens have been attacked,” Roger informed him. “So each tower has at least one escape route. Freddie’s has two: one from Freddie’s rooms and one from Miami’s rooms. We only have one though, although there is a secret staircase that leads from my bedroom to yours. I’ll show you that later.”

Crystal stared at him. He couldn’t imagine such exalted beings needing escape routes. Possibly these secret passages had existed in the castle since it was built in more violent times and the Queens liked showing them to new people for a bit of drama. Crystal imagined that Roger’s life of being fed and being taken for walks was often quite dull and that he needed the excitement of a secret tunnel he could reveal to Crystal. 

Roger towed him to the bedroom. Roger’s rooms were furnished with the same heavy wooden furniture as Crystal’s rooms. Every piece was elaborately carved. The walls of the room were panelled. “As you’ve probably guessed it’s the old, door concealed as a wooden panel, trick,” Roger told Crystal, pressing on a section of the wall next to the bed which swung open. Roger pulled the door shut, hooking his fingers under one of the ridges in the panel. “You try,” he invited Crystal. 

Crystal realised that the ridges in the panels were solid apart from one small area where you could hook your fingers underneath and press a lever that opened the door. “Ingenious,” he murmured. 

Roger pulled him through the door and pulled it closed behind them, plunging them into darkness. “Shuffle forwards cautiously,” Roger instructed him. “There are steps leading down, feel carefully for the edge of each step until your eyes adjust to the dark.”

Crystal followed Roger down the stairs obediently. The staircase was narrow so they had to descend in single file. When they reached the foot of the stairs they continued along a passageway that ran straight ahead.

“If we thought there was a risk of any attack we would either all barricade ourselves in one tower or we would each be in our separate towers,” Roger told him. “The staff would be sent away until the danger had passed.”

“That isn’t likely, though, is it?” Crystal pointed out. 

“It has been over three hundred years since the Queens were attacked,” Roger informed him, “but consider how weak the current King is, Crystal, and think of how old he is with no legitimate heir. Change is coming.”

Was that a prediction, Crystal wondered. What was it like to be able to divine what the future would hold as the Queens could? How clear was the future? Did they understand what they were seeing?

“I- I hope this is not an offensive question...” Crystal began. 

“You would like to know if we would know if we were going to be attacked,” Roger said, “and the answer is – maybe. A collective vision may warn us. However, we rarely see what is going to happen to ourselves so if one of us was attacked we would not know unless one of the others saw it and warned us. And around five hundred years ago a Queen attacked the others which they do not appear to have foreseen.”

“Why would a Queen attack the other Queens?” Crystal wondered.

“And here we are!” Roger sang out, ignoring Crystal’s question and pushing open a door ahead of them.

Crystal blinked in the sunlight as they emerged from the passageway. It was a glorious morning and already very warm. He glanced around. They had emerged on the other side of the lake from the castle. 

“I’ll take you back through Freddie’s escape route,” Roger told him. “His secret tunnel emerges a little way along from here. Brian’s is crap. His comes out halfway along the bridge. I wouldn’t be using that if we were under attack! John’s is really long so we won’t show you that one. I mean, we’ll show you how to access it but we won’t go along it – it emerges in the hills.”

Crystal nodded, feeling slightly dazed, and then remembered his earlier question, which Roger had avoided answering. “Why would a Queen attack the other Queens?” he repeated. 

Roger slipped on a pair of sunglasses. “We don’t know for sure,” he murmured. “She seems to have been the sole procreator and the text seems to suggest she was under a lot of pressure to produce the next generation. That’s why...” Roger’s voice trailed off. “Well, she was apparently under a lot of pressure,” he concluded. 

Crystal stared at him. “The Queens have children?”

Roger laughed. “Well, we don’t hatch from eggs!”

“But... You give birth to the next set?” Crystal spluttered. None of the myths and legends about the Queens had hinted at this. 

Roger looked puzzled. “Well, of course. How else would we exist?”

“But... How does it work? Do you each have a child?” Crystal asked. 

“Most sets have at least two procreators,” Roger said, “although it would be extremely rare to find that all four Queens could become pregnant. For example, the metallic Queens are hardly ever able to get pregnant. All male Queens can usually father children, by the way, we use the term procreators for the Queens who carry and gave birth to babies. The Queens are quite often fathered by the Colour Master. Fucking the Queens who can get pregnant is actually part of the Colour Master's job. However, in mixed sets the male Queens sometimes seem to have fathered the children of the female Queens and in all male sets, like ours, there are usually two procreators and two impregnators. Also as a general rule only Queens who have a colour on the spectrum can give birth.”

Crystal silently digested this as they walked along the path by the lake. “Does that mean...?”

“I am the only procreator in my set, yes,” Roger nodded.

Crystal wondered if the pressure on Roger and presumably the potential risk of him following the path of the long ago Queen who had attacked the other Queens had been what had led to the insistence that Roger got an assistant. It seemed rude to ask though. 

“I had a miscarriage,” Roger said softly. “I was... It has been a difficult time. I doubt they think I will attack them but they felt I might need extra support and... For some reason, throughout history the Queens have always had assistants. We’re not sure why anymore. Brian thinks they must have had some more vital role, like the Colour Master, that we’ve lost sight of now.” 

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Crystal told him. He felt he sounded too stiff and pompous. He still felt a little dazed by the revelation that the Queens gave birth to their successors. He was even more astonished to discover that he was working with the only Queen who could currently have children. And had lost a child – the pressure on Roger to have a healthy baby must be immense.

“There are ledgers in the library detailing all of the pregnancies of the Queens for about eight hundred years,” Roger informed Crystal in a too-bright voice, “and almost all of them have had miscarriages.” 

Roger took Crystal’s hand. Crystal squeezed Roger’s hand in what he hoped was a comforting way. 

*

The entrance to the tunnel that led to Freddie’s tower was hidden in the bank of the lake just as the door they had exited through from Roger’s escape route had been. Crystal hoped he never had to identify the doors from this side as the grass looked perfectly normal to him. 

The tunnel was pretty much identical to the one they had left the castle through but it was wider so they continued to hold hands. The tunnel also seemed longer with more twists and turns before they reached the inevitable stairs. 

“So are you four brothers, or half-brothers?” Crystal wondered as they headed through the tunnel.

“No,” Roger sounded amused. “Purple was Freddie’s mother. His father was her assistant. Blue was Brian’s mother. His father was also an assistant. The last set was extremely unusual in that Gold could also give birth and she was John’s mother. Generally the metallic Queens cannot procreate. John’s father was also an assistant. My mother was Green and the Colour Master was my father. Not Miami, of course, each generation has a new Colour Master. It’s actually also rare for us to know who our fathers were. Normally the fertile Queens fuck everyone in sight to maximise their chances of getting pregnant. I don’t know...” Roger gulped. “I don’t know who the father was,” he whispered.

Crystal squeezed his hand again, feeling a surge of protectiveness. “Where are your mothers now?” he asked, “and your fathers.”

“The former Queens die once the new generation come into possession of their magical powers,” Roger said flatly, “and our fathers leave once the new Colour Master arrives.”

Crystal frowned, unseen by Roger in the dark tunnel. “Who picks the new Colour Master?” he wondered. How did it all work?

“The former Queens summon the new Colour Master,” Roger told him. “It is their final magical act. Then they kind of...dissolve -they just kind of fade out of existence. My mother told me that it happens that way because of an ancient curse. She said that once upon a time the generations lived together and worked with each other.”

“Summon? So did Miami just kind of materialise?” Crystal asked. 

Roger laughed. “No. The Colour Master receives the summons and according to Miami the Association found him almost immediately and made the arrangements for him to come here.”

“The Association,” Crystal echoed.

“My understanding of it is that the Association is made up of former assistants and Colour Masters,” Roger explained. “They will have arranged for you to be here. I don’t know what name they use outside but we refer to them as the Association.” 

“Ah, okay,” Crystal nodded, although Roger could not see him in the darkness. They had started to climb the steps up to Freddie’s chambers now. “What do you know about this curse, then?”

Roger sighed. “Only my mother seems to have heard of it so the others think it is probably made up: a story to comfort a child. I believe it though. Once the Queens ruled the Kingdom but now a series of magical restrictions keep us confined to the castle and we are the playthings of the King and his minions. Quite literally, in fact, as the King’s advisor, Godfrey Knight has...forced himself on those of us he found desirable during the current reign.”

“He’s...? Did he...?” Crystal spluttered incoherently, imagining the bony hands of the King’s slimy advisor touching Roger without permission. A distant part of his mind registered surprise at how protective he felt of Roger despite having known him for less than a day. 

Roger continued as if Crystal had not spoken. “At some point during the past the power of the Queens was severely curtailed. By what methods and by whom we do not know but a curse would make sense.”

“So... You said...” Crystal silently despaired of ever being able to coherently voice his thoughts. “You said you are subject to magical restrictions that keep you here?”

“Yes,” Roger agreed. “You don’t think we are here voluntarily, do you?” He halted and let go of Crystal’s hand. He fumbled at the wall in front of them and Crystal realised they had reached the door. He squinted in the sudden light as the door swung open.

He heard a shriek. “Sorry, Freddie,” Roger said, not sounding a bit sorry. “I’m just showing Crystal the escape routes.”

“I almost had a heart attack, darling!” Freddie cried. He was sitting at a desk in the corner of the airy room they had emerged into. 

Crystal looked around. The room was partly a study and partly a sitting room. The room was furnished with beautiful delicate looking furniture. Everything was light and bright. It appeared that only Roger had got heavy wooden furniture that looked like it might come alive at any moment.

“You knew we were coming,” Roger said. “You saw this.” 

“I didn’t know it was today!” Freddie objected. 

Roger shrugged. “It shouldn’t really be possible for me to surprise you,” he suggested. He glanced at Crystal. “Freddie sees my future the best out of the four of us.”

“I don’t see every move you make, darling,” Freddie informed him. “Crystal, dear, would you like some tea?”

“That’d be lovely, thank you,” Crystal said.

“Roger, be a darling and make tea, will you?” Freddie murmured. “I’ll just finish this letter to Papa.”

Roger seized Crystal’s hand again and pulled him into a small kitchen area. “Freddie keeps in touch with his father,” he explained. “The letters are censored, of course, so they can only exchange bland pleasantries. I can’t correspond with my father as the former Colour Masters are not allowed to keep in touch with us.” 

Crystal frowned. He watched Roger spooning tea into a teapot. “In the outside world we all think you are here voluntarily,” he said slowly. “We aren’t told very much about you and from what I’ve seen so far I would say that what we are told is not the truth.” Roger filled the kettle and switched it on. “What magical restrictions are in place?” Crystal asked. 

“You have seen that we can leave the castle and the island,” Roger pointed out. “Actually, about that – I should have said this earlier – you must not tell anyone about the escape routes or mention them to anyone other than the Queens, the assistants and Miami.”

Crystal nodded. “Understood,” he said.

“Good. Well, as you have seen, we can leave the castle and the island quite easily although the King and his advisors don't seem to know that. So you might think we could use, say, John’s tunnel and emerge in the hills and skip merrily over them to freedom. However, just as our mothers fade away once we have come into our magical powers so too do we fade away if we go beyond the hills. It is very gradual – the authorities would always like to recapture us – but if we are not caught then we die. Some Queens have taken that option, we think. The records are somewhat hazy about this.”

Crystal considered this. “If you left... If you broke the chain and didn’t have children...”

“The records suggest that around two hundred years ago a set escaped. Two faded and two were recaptured. The recaptured two happened to be the procreators. A coincidence or is that how the magical restrictions work? We don’t know.” Roger shrugged. “The Queen who attacked the others did not succeed in harming them. She was locked in her tower, we think they kept her chained to a wall, and they continued as, effectively, a set of three. Of course they required her to have children as she was the only fertile Queen and she did.” Roger shuddered.

The kettle came to an angry boil. Crystal watched Roger make tea in silence and thought uneasily about this new and unwelcome knowledge about how the Queens were treated. “We all regard you as almost mystical beings,” he said unhappily. “You are almost worshipped in the outside world. People would be shocked to know this.” 

Roger set the tea things on a tray. “I didn’t mean to upset you,” he told Crystal in a soft voice. “I think it is important that you know our position, however.”

Crystal nodded. “Thank you, yes, I think it is important. It’s just a bit of a shock.”

“What’s a shock, dear?” Freddie demanded, appearing in the kitchen doorway. 

Roger explained that according to Crystal people in the outside world did not realise the position the Queens were in. Freddie looked thoughtful and nodded. “I had thought that might be the case. Ratty and Phoebe didn’t know anything about us either when they arrived. Miami had been provided with information, of course. If we knew the purpose of the assistants perhaps we would be able to give them information before they arrived too,” Freddie sighed. He patted Crystal’s arm. “Phoebe was very shocked,” he told Crystal. “Ratty, too, but Phoebe is so sensitive.” 

They sipped tea and Crystal listened to Freddie and Roger trading castle gossip. He tried to match faces to the names he heard. He considered everything he had learned that morning. When there was a lull in the conversation he ventured, “Do you think perhaps you don’t know what the real role of the assistants is because it would be a threat to the people in power?” 

Freddie nodded, sipping his tea. “That thought has occurred to us, dear. The answer may well be in the library. The trouble is that even if some former Queen or Colour Master or assistant has found out they can’t pass the knowledge on. Former Queens are never left alone with their children. We are raised by the Colour Master and the assistants. We have a strong suspicion that assistants and Colour Masters who breach the unspoken rules in any way ‘disappear’ instead of joining the Association.”

“We did wonder if my father was in trouble because he allowed my mother to tell me about the supposed curse,” Roger told Crystal. “I’ve been told Colour Masters are not allowed to communicate with anyone in the new household but what if that’s a cover story? What if they...?” He gulped.

Freddie patted Roger’s back. “Don’t distress yourself, darling.”

Crystal felt sick. “This is appalling,” he gasped. He considered this, “So how do you know this?” he wondered, “If no one was able to tell you?” 

“The assistants acted as our tutors,” Freddie explained, “and they directed us to certain books in the library for our history lessons. We assume the Crown and the Association do not know exactly what information the library contains.” 

“We assume they would spy on us if they could,” Roger told Crystal, “but the magic of the castle makes that impossible. And the library is very well protected by magic.”

Crystal supposed that was something, at least. “Perhaps you should show me around the library once you’ve finished your tea,” he suggested to Roger who rewarded him with a little smile.


	2. Welcome To Hell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little warning that there is quite a lot of vomiting in this chapter.

There was an unchanging routine at the castle. They had breakfast and then Crystal accompanied Roger on his daily walk. The Queens all had time to themselves in the mornings and Crystal had found that the assistants tended to congregate in the library to delve into the past and attempt to understand what they were likely to be up against in the future.

If Crystal had been told when he took the job that he would spend a lot of time doing research in a library he might have thought twice about signing up. However, now he knew the position the Queens were in and that they were effectively prisoners here he was keen to see if he could find a way to free them. No one spoke of the situation the Queens were in but Crystal was pretty sure they were all seeking a way to break the curse, if there was one.

It was in the interests of the assistants to search for anything to help with what he was starting to think of as The Situation too, Crystal thought grimly. If Roger successfully produced the next set, which seemed to be his inescapable role, then Crystal seriously doubted he’d be able to keep his mouth shut while he was raising the next set of Queens. And if he told them the truth about The Situation then what would happen to him once he left the castle? He wondered how many former Colour Masters and Assistants had made it into The Association. 

He had been recruited by and dealt exclusively with an elderly man called Mr Harris who had interviewed him, offered him the job on the spot and made his travel arrangements. There had been another name on the paperwork – a Mr Hutton – but Crystal had never met him. 

The Queens sometimes joined them in the library but often they were left alone to their research. Ratty tended to locate books requested by Phoebe and, once he had been there a few days, also found books for Crystal. Miami sometimes joined them too. “I’m very eager to find out what happens to the Colour Masters once they are no longer needed,” he told Crystal. “I suspect what we were all told would happen when we were hired and what will actually happen might be two very different things.”

Miami was reading all he could find about the Colour Masters. Phoebe was researching everything to do with the assistants. Crystal considered Roger’s situation and began to research the pregnancies of the Queens.

As Roger had told him the pregnancies had been carefully recorded by each Colour Master. As a magician whose colour was green Crystal was a natural healer and had received training as such. He had not dealt with many magician pregnancies though and noted that there seemed to be a few differences between these and non-magical pregnancies according to the records the Colour Masters had kept. The pregnancies of the Queens seemed to be more intense – as Roger had noted there was a high incidence of miscarriage which Crystal knew did tend to happen with magical pregnancies. There also seemed to be a higher incidence of morning sickness and of extreme tiredness. The births seemed to be very quick too. 

A new red ledger had the heartbreakingly short entry detailing Roger’s only pregnancy so far. As Roger had also informed him most of the fertile Queens had miscarried at some point. Crystal searched for those whose first pregnancy had ended in miscarriage.

There were two Queens whose first pregnancy had ended in miscarriage. One was the Queen Roger had mentioned who had attacked the other Queens in her set. The other had also been mentioned by Roger as she was one of the set that had escaped. She had been one of the two re-captured Queens from that set. Crystal frowned. Did a first pregnancy ending in miscarriage mean further drama was on the way?

He discovered one Queen who had only had one pregnancy that had not ended in miscarriage and tears stung his eyes as he read her record. She had been one of two fertile Queens in a set of four women. The other procreator Queen had given birth to three future Queens and their Colour Master had scribbled in the margins of the ledger that after a great deal of thought he had concluded that the miscarriages had been the result of the Queen being incompatible with the fathers in some way. Crystal reflected that the fact they hardly ever knew who the fathers were wouldn’t have helped.

Would this knowledge help him assist Roger with his next pregnancy? Crystal sighed and pushed the ledger he was reading to one side. Phoebe smiled sympathetically at him across the table. “The pregnancy records are tough to read,” Phoebe noted. 

“What bits of the library have you not explored yet?” Crystal wondered. “I think I’m just going to randomly pick something else to read.” 

Phoebe directed him to a dark corner of the library where the dust made him sneeze. He closed his eyes and reached in front of him until his fingertips touched a book which he slid off the shelf and took back to the table.

The book appeared to be someone’s diary, written in tiny spiky handwriting in faded ink. Crystal squinted at it thinking he might go blind trying to decipher it. 

He managed to read the first lines: Herein is recorded the account of the first Colour Master of the new era. Welcome to hell.

It might be hard to read but perhaps it would be worth reading.

*

After lunch the assistants were expected to clean their own quarters and those of their Queens while the Queens and the Colour Master were in the room of mystery. In theory each assistant attended to the rooms of their own Queen but in practice Ratty, Phoebe and Crystal joined forces and did the cleaning together. They cleaned Miami’s rooms too.

“What happens in the room of mystery, then?” Crystal asked. 

Ratty grinned. “That’s why it’s called the room of mystery, innit?” 

“They have visions,” Phoebe said, “or sex. That’s what we think, anyway.” 

Ratty nodded. “There hasn’t been much sex lately though but that can’t last forever – they’ll have to get poor Rog knocked up again at some point.” 

“And-uh,” Crystal had been thinking about the last set of Queens, “This lot were fathered by their mothers’ assistants, weren’t they?”

Ratty grinned again. “That’s not in our official job description but at some point Miami will pull you aside for a chat.”

“A chat?” Crystal echoed. 

“It’s along the lines of – although fucking Roger is not in your job description if he wants you then you better leap into bed with him,” Ratty laughed. He nudged Phoebe. “You’ve been there too, haven’t you?” 

Crystal felt his hands clench into fists. It took some effort to relax them. “Well,” he seethed, “I expect he has to give everyone a chance.” 

Ratty looked concerned. “I didn’t mean to offend you,” he said, “Rog would be the first to admit he sleeps around. He approached me a few weeks after I arrived here, not long after Miami had spoken to me, actually. He invited me to his rooms.”

Phoebe nodded. “My story is similar,” he told Crystal, blushing. “And you can refuse,” he added.

“You can,” Ratty agreed, “but I wouldn’t like to find out what happens if you do.” He stopped grinning and added seriously, “Besides, refusing might upset Rog and that would be terrible.”

Crystal nodded his agreement at this. “Do they really think he might attack them?” he asked. This has been bothering him ever since Roger had told him about the previous Queen who had attacked the rest of her set. He had read her pregnancy record carefully and had noted that it was disturbingly similar to the record of Roger’s pregnancy. 

“They don’t know what to think,” Phoebe sighed. “They are taught magic by the Colour Master of the previous set but as you have probably realised yourself there are constraints on what magic can be carried out within the castle. It’s a part of the control the King has over them. What they are taught is also strictly monitored, however, I think the former Colour Master may have broken the rules with our set – I think he taught them more magic than he was supposed to. But they don’t really know what their full powers are or how to use them. And they don’t know what might have caused the olden day Queen to attack the others or what to watch out for with Roger. There is a note in the margin of her pregnancy record that suggests that she should have had an assistant and that is why you are here.”

Crystal had read that note. He was at a loss to know why having an assistant would have made any difference but it seemed no one else knew either. He was too ashamed to say that he had not actually noticed that there were magical restrictions in place. Ratty, however, admitted that he had not realised. “I don’t have much magic,” Ratty said, “maybe that’s why. Once I’d received basic training I didn’t get any further teaching. I can’t carry out spells.”

Crystal nodded, acknowledging that Ratty’s magical training was commonplace. Most magicians only received a basic magical education. He decided to ask the other thing that had been on his mind since that first morning. “Roger mentioned that the King’s advisor...”

Ratty and Phoebe both shuddered. “That odious man,” Phoebe hissed. “He dragged poor Roger into one of the reception rooms and locked the doors.”

“He...forced himself on Roger?” Crystal asked.

Ratty nodded. His face was grim. “The King is supposed to have raped their mothers,” he growled, “although Brian seems to be the only one of our set who is aware of that. But the King isn’t interested in our set. Knight, on the other hand, is all too interested in Rog.”

“We must find a way to help them,” Crystal muttered.

“We will,” Phoebe said, sounding confident. “If there is any possible way to save them then we will find it.” 

* 

Crystal had been in his new role for almost a month when the first Full Moon dinner happened. He dressed in the second hand formal suit he had bought when he had been offered the job. He felt slightly nervous as he knocked on the door of Roger’s apartment.

Roger was wearing a red velvet robe over dark jeans and a dark t-shirt. He reached out and fingered the worn lapel of Crystal’s dark green velvet suit. “Interesting,” he murmured. “Don’t you scrub up well?” he added cheerfully. He offered Crystal his arm. “Shall we?” 

*

The other Queens were dressed similarly. Freddie was wearing white jeans and a white t-shirt with a black velvet robe draped over them. Brian was wearing black jeans and a black t-shirt with a white velvet robe and John was wearing caramel coloured clothes with what looked like shimmering coppery chain mail draped over them.

“John’s get-up is very flashy, isn’t it?” Roger whispered. “It’s very heavy but to be honest so are the velvet robes.”

Instead of two long tables there was one large circular table. The Queens sat together – Freddie, Brian, John and Roger. Crystal sat next to Roger and Phoebe came to sit beside him. Phoebe was wearing a soft blue velvet suit. 

“You look lovely,” Phoebe murmured warmly. 

“You too,” Crystal muttered. He was not sure what to expect and was a little surprised to realise he was still nervous. He jumped slightly as Roger squeezed his hand. Had Roger realised he was nervous? How shameful, not to mention irritating. He wriggled his hand free. 

A couple of days earlier Miami had cornered him as he had headed out of the library. He had cleared his throat and looked fixedly at the floor, a blush spreading across his cheeks as he explained to Crystal that Roger might want to couple with him in an attempt to become pregnant again. He had informed Crystal that he could, of course, refuse if Roger made any advances towards him. Crystal had been pretty sure there had been an unspoken additional message of – you can refuse him of course – if you’re a mean bastard who doesn’t mind breaking Roger’s sweet little heart.

Crystal had nodded. “Fuck Roger if he wants me to, yeah, no problem.”

*

Once all the seats at the table were taken the Queens stood up, rising in a spookily synchronised way and startling Crystal slightly. “Blessed be,” they chanted in unison in a marvellously tuneful way. They chanted other words in a language Crystal didn’t understand. It sounded beautiful though.

As they resumed their seats the usual magical serving dishes began to distribute the meal. Crystal found that his wine glass was never empty on this evening and knew he should be wary of that but he soon found himself feeling too intoxicated to care.

“What did the words mean?” he asked Roger.

“It’s a fertility blessing,” Roger told him, looking slightly sad, “And also wishing health and happiness to all in the castle.”

Crystal reached over and squeezed Roger’s hand this time. 

*

They swayed and giggled as they wound their way back to their tower. “Your room or mine,” Roger asked.

“Mine,” Crystal told him.

Roger looked uncharacteristically nervous in Crystal’s bedroom -he seemed tiny next to the heavy dark furniture and was twirling a lock of hair around his finger. “You don’t mind?” he asked Crystal.

“I’d be delighted,” Crystal told him gently, “As long as you want to, of course.” 

Roger nodded. “Please. Can you help me out of this...?” he indicated his outfit.

Crystal peeled the heavy red robe from Roger’s shoulders and carefully hung it up. He gently tugged Roger’s t-shirt up and over his head, tousling his hair. Roger peeked up at him from under his long eye-lashes. “You’re gorgeous,” Crystal breathed, trailing his fingers down Roger’s chest towards the waistband of his jeans. 

It felt slightly surreal to him to be touching the Red Queen like this. In the town Crystal had grown up in the Queens had been spoken of in hushed tones and referred to as if they were mystical beings rather than flesh and blood. Despite the fact that Crystal was now very aware of just how human Roger and all of the Queens were it still seemed odd that he was about to do something as primal as having sex with this heavenly creature. 

He cupped Roger’s arse with his other hand and pulled him closer. “May I kiss you?”

“Please,” Roger murmured, adding, “You can do whatever you like to me.”

Crystal felt a little surge of protectiveness towards Roger who was so clearly careless of his own safety. He pressed his lips against Roger’s. Roger tasted of wine and smelt like strawberries. Crystal nuzzled his neck as they broke apart. “You smell delicious,” he said. 

“Oh,” Roger sounded surprised. His fingers tangled in the front of Crystal’s shirt. “Can you...? May I...?”

They hastily shed their remaining clothes and moved to the bed. At the back of Crystal’s mind a little voice was saying that fucking his boss was not the best idea even if it was practically part of his job but the little voice was easily drowned out by Crystal’s lust for Roger. 

*

Sometime during the night Crystal blinked drowsily as Roger left the bed. Crystal heard him enter the bathroom. He had dozed off again before Roger returned. 

Roger mumbled something in his sleep, his head resting on Crystal’s chest. Crystal kissed the top of Roger’s head. The scent of strawberries still surrounded him. “Wake up sleepy-head or we’ll be late for breakfast,” Crystal murmured. 

Roger stirred a little. “Breakfast here,” he suggested drowsily. “No people,” he added with a little shudder. 

“Okay, danger,” Crystal agreed. 

“Danger,” Roger puzzled. 

“Red alert – red for danger,” Crystal told him and Roger laughed. 

*

“Good night?” Ratty asked with a wink as Crystal entered the library.

“Great night, thanks,” Crystal said. He picked up the book he had found that was apparently written by the first Colour Master and settled into a chair.

Phoebe cleared his throat. “They’ll do a spell later today to find out if Rog is pregnant,” he informed Crystal. 

“So soon,” Crystal queried, startled. 

Phoebe nodded. “They can tell very soon after...er...” He blushed. 

*

Crystal had previously abandoned the book written by the long ago Colour Master because it was frankly too difficult to decipher the spidery writing. Now, however, he felt that this task would absorb him and take his mind off the scary prospect that he might have impregnated Roger – that he might be a father. 

That he might be the father of one of the next Queens. A child destined to be imprisoned here.

He could not read about pregnancies today so he chose to try and prise secrets from the scrawl in the ancient journal. 

*

“Crystal,” someone said and Crystal looked up, startled. He was amazed to discover that the light was fading – someone had turned a lamp on in the library. Roger was standing over him. He realised the other assistants had all left. “Phoebe said you were engrossed in a book so they just left you here,” Roger told him sounding amused. “You’ve missed lunch, but I didn’t want you to miss dinner too.”

“Uh...Thank you,” Crystal mumbled. “This is,” he indicated the book, “very interesting. Do you think anyone would mind if I took it to my room to read later?”

Roger shook his head. “We’re allowed to take things out of the library.” He put his arm on Crystal’s arm as he stood up, keeping him in place for a moment. “Crystal, I’m pregnant,” he said.

Crystal felt the world tilt for a moment although whether it was from lack of food and water or this momentous news he would never know. He felt a smile spread across his face. Roger smiled too. Crystal wrapped his arms around Roger and hugged him. “I will take the best care of you and the little amber warning,” he told him.

Roger laughed. “I don’t need...”

“You will get,” Crystal growled, “and you will allow.”

“Ooh...very masterful,” Roger laughed. His face clouded over. “I just...I couldn’t bear it if...”

Crystal gently rubbed Roger’s back. “I will do all I can to make this the easiest pregnancy ever for you.” He silently made another vow to save Roger and their baby from having to remain imprisoned here. He didn’t know how he was going to achieve that yet but he knew he could not stand by while Roger faded out of existence as their child came to power. 

Roger gave him a little kiss.

*

The morning sickness lasted all day and was brutal. Roger had clambered into bed next to Crystal the night before and awakened him as he dashed to the bathroom early the following morning. Crystal blearily followed him and knelt beside him holding his hair away from his face and murmuring soothing things to him. “Sweetheart, were you sick the night before last too?” he asked suddenly, recalling hazily that Roger had got up during the night after they had first slept together.

Roger mumbled that he had been and Crystal felt a pang of guilt. “You must always wake me up, danger,” he told Roger. Danger was wrong, he thought. He felt it implied that Roger was about to attack the others and Crystal thought that was very unlikely indeed. He had no doubt Roger could be dangerous if a situation required it but it was not one of his defining traits. “I’m going to have to get you a new nickname,” he murmured, “danger isn’t right.”

Roger laughed. “You don’t think you’re in danger?”

“Very much so,” Crystal grinned, kissing him, “I’m in danger of being in thrall to you. But it’s not a suitable nickname for you.”

“Aren’t you supposed to use a term of endearment?” Roger murmured, pressing his lips to Crystal’s.

“Danger isn’t really suitable as a term of endearment, either,” Crystal noted, “is it honey-bunch?” He laughed at the look of horror on Roger’s face. 

*

Later, as they left the dining hall after lunch – a lunch Roger had eaten very little of and rushed out to vomit up twice – Crystal drew Phoebe aside. “I know he was sick like this before – do you know anything that helped?” he pleaded. Most people had been pregnant for weeks before they were struck with morning sickness but from reading the pregnancy records Crystal knew that the pregnancies of the Queens seemed to vary from what he would have regarded as usual.

Phoebe shook his head. “We tried everything we could think of – all the things that seemed to have worked for previous Queens who were sick during pregnancy but nothing seemed to help Rog very much unfortunately.” They both sighed in unison. 

Crystal caught John’s arm as the Queens headed for the room of mystery. “Look after him when he’s sick,” he commanded John fiercely.

John looked slightly surprised, “Yes,” he agreed flatly, adding, “of course,” very pointedly. 

*

Tortured by the idea of Roger feeling dreadful without Crystal to rub his back and stroke his hair, Crystal rushed through his chores and returned to the comforting all-consuming task of deciphering the Colour Master’s journal. 

It was astonishing. The first section of the journal gave the old Colour Master’s account of the military coup that had swept the Queens from power. Joseph, the Colour Master who had written the journal, was on the side of the Queens in this dispute. 

Crystal had always been taught that the Queens had ruled for a while but had not been suited to ruling as they lived only partially in the real world due to their gifts of being able to see the future so the first King had taken over backed by the people. Now, having met the Queens Crystal knew that they did not walk about in a magical daze all the time.

Therefore it came as no surprise to Crystal to find that the story Joseph, the former Colour Master, told was very different to what Crystal had been taught at school. Joseph claimed that the Queens had foreseen the head of their army trying to wrestle power from them and had taken steps to remove him from his position. The head of the army had an accomplice in the castle that tipped him off about the plans of the Queens and led a faction loyal to him against them.

The castle had been relatively unprotected in those days and the Queens were captured easily. They had been bound with ropes dyed the opposite colour to that of each Queen’s magical colour or, in the case of their metal Queen – Silver – bound with chains of gold. 

The army chief appointed himself King. He had been very unpopular according to Joseph who claimed the people had rioted but the uprising had been ruthlessly quelled by those loyal to the new crown. The King – King Hubert – had promised those who followed him riches beyond their wildest dreams. He was a powerful magician himself and he cursed the Queens and killed those of their extended family who were living in the Colour Castle apart from the two children they already had.

There was something about other castles that Crystal couldn’t read. He thought he read something that looked like ‘spare Queens’ but Joseph’s writing was too hard to decipher. Perhaps one of the others would be able to work out what he was saying at that point. 

Joseph explained that the roles of Colour Master and assistants had already existed but they changed radically under the new regime. The Colour Master and assistants had formerly been used to heighten the magic of the Queens and strengthen and direct their visions.

The assistants had been carefully selected for their magical strengths and – most importantly – their colour. Each Queen should have an assistant of their opposite magical colour.

Crystal stared at the words on the page. He was Roger’s colour opposite.

Joseph went on to explain that the Colour Master was normally a complementary magical colour for each of the set of Queens and acted as a focal point for the direction of their visions. The assistants – opposite colours – heightened the magic of the Queens. Crystal supposed they acted almost as an irritant. It was a well known fact that opposite colours were often attracted to each other romantically but tended to agitate each other magically. 

Under the new regime this still happened but the Colour Master and assistants were now expected to impregnate the Queens. The thinking seemed to be that children produced by the Queens and their assistants would be even more powerful.

Crystal frowned, wondering what had changed. At some point the assistant’s role appeared to have been lost. Now, not every Queen had an assistant and apart from him they were not the opposite colour of their Queen.

*

He sought Miami out after dinner and sketchily outlined what he had learned. Miami’s eyes lit up. “We must call a meeting. Everyone needs to hear this.”

Crystal nodded in agreement. “How was Roger this afternoon?” he asked.

Miami frowned. “Not great. He puked a couple of times.” He glanced across at Roger who was waiting by the door for Crystal. “He seemed to keep dinner down better.”

*

Miami had told him to come with Roger to Freddie’s rooms in half an hour. By that time Roger had thrown up his dinner. He was pale and unusually quiet. “You don’t have to come,” Crystal told him. “I can tuck you into bed with a hot water bottle.”

Roger managed a small smile. “A couple of days and we’ve gone from falling into bed locked in a passionate embrace to me being tucked in like a child.”

“Well, there is a child involved,” Crystal pointed out, kissing him. 

“I can’t stay in bed for my entire pregnancy,” Roger told him firmly. “I shall come. I might...Before I had a little bag I carried a toothbrush and toothpowder in...”

“Let’s find that, then,” Crystal suggested. “And I want you to promise me that you will tell me if you are tired and want to come back here.”

“I promise,” Roger said.

*

Everyone else was already there when they arrived. “Sorry,” Roger mumbled, “I was spewing.”

Freddie grimaced. “Charming, dear,” he said, curving his arm around Roger and settling him on a small sofa, wrapping a rug around him and arranging the cushions at his back. “Crystal, you sit here, next to Rog,” he commanded. Crystal obeyed – he had no intention of sitting anywhere else anyway.

It took a while before everyone had a drink – peppermint tea for Roger and a beer for Crystal which Roger eyed rather sadly. “You’d just chuck it up again anyway,” Crystal pointed out, “plus the little amber warning shouldn’t be getting drunk at their age.”

Roger stuck his tongue out at him but added, very softly, “I wouldn’t.”

“I know,” Crystal assured him. 

Miami asked Crystal to tell them all what he had found out. They listened carefully as he told them. 

“Something seems to have gone wrong with the colours,” John murmured once Crystal had finished. 

“What do you mean?” Brian wondered. 

John gestured between Freddie and Brian. “You two are opposites not your assistants. We don’t even all have assistants.” He glanced at Crystal. “Does it say anything about exactly what they do magically?”

Crystal shook his head. “I mean, I haven’t read all of it yet but I get the impression Joseph assumes that anyone reading his journal will know what they would do.”

“Would anyone object to stating their magical colour?” Miami asked cautiously. “I’m gold,” he added. 

“Light blue,” Phoebe said.

“Orange,” Ratty told them.

“Green,” Crystal said.

“So...” Freddie considered this. “Brian and I are opposites and so are Roggie and Crystal – well, isn’t that interesting, darlings – and so are Phoebe and Ratty and...Two metals...I’m never very sure how they work.”

“Gold could work as being complementary to everything,” John ventured. “So there seems to be some semblance of opposites and complementary colours happening. That is interesting.”

“Perhaps,” Phoebe suggested, “the children the Queens and their assistants had were too powerful.”

Crystal felt as if everyone was staring at him and Roger. “And perhaps,” Miami said, “it happened so long ago that now the Association do not realise what the original roles were.”

Roger placed his hand protectively over his still flat stomach. “Do you think we could focus our visions?” he wondered. 

“I think we should try,” Brian and John replied in startling unison. 

“Agreed,” Freddie nodded. He glanced at Crystal. “And I think you should continue to read the journal, Crystal. It should be your main priority until we know everything that this Joseph said.”

There was a general murmur of approval of this suggestion. Crystal nodded. He had intended to keep reading the book anyway. 

*

Roger snuggled against Crystal in bed. “Do you think little warning is gonna be special?” he asked. 

“Any kid of ours is gonna be amazing, yeah,” Crystal told him.

“I wish I wasn’t too tired to fuck you,” Roger mumbled. 

Crystal felt shocked. “You shouldn’t be doing anything that energetic! You’re in a delicate condition!”

“I’m not made of glass, Crystal,” Roger huffed. “But I might vomit all over you if...” He considered this. “I’m sure we can work something out.” He gave Crystal a suspicious look. “You’re gonna banish me to my own room and make us both have cold showers, aren’t you?”

“Yes, although no cold showers for you, not in your condition,” Crystal told him. 

“Well, I’m not going,” Roger sulked, “and if you’re going to withhold sex then I’ll take my nauseous carcass elsewhere for fun.”

“I just don’t want to hurt you,” Crystal explained. 

“You won’t. Tomorrow you’ll have to read all the medical books. Promise me you will?” Roger mumbled drowsily, adding, “Green...You are a healer...”

“Yeah, I’m a healer. I’ve already read all the medical books. And rationally I know it wouldn’t hurt to...But the part of me that is scared shitless at you carrying my baby doesn’t seem to know that,” Crystal explained. 

“Oh,” Roger sounded surprised. “Oh, no, it’ll be fine,” he assured Crystal sleepily. “Little warning will be happy and cheerful and content.”

“Have you seen that?” Crystal wondered, “In a vision,” he clarified. 

“No,” Roger gave him a little kiss, “but I know it in my heart. You’ll be a lovely trying and not quite managing to be strict parent and I’ll be hopeless but well-intentioned and loving. It’s the loving that’s the important part.”

Crystal snorted. He opened his mouth to reply but realised Roger was asleep. 

*

Brian had been researching morning sickness remedies. He had compiled a list which he thrust at Crystal the following morning after breakfast. “The first one to try is keeping him in bed until he has had a ginger biscuit and a cup of tea.”

Crystal doubted Roger would be able to stay in bed long enough for him to fetch a ginger biscuit and tea – that morning he’d woken Crystal with his hurried departure from the bed, racing to the bathroom. But it had been kind of Brian to research the matter. “We’ll try that one tomorrow.”

*

Roger vomited into a flower bed when they went outside for their customary after breakfast walk. His hair was neatly braided so Crystal did not have to hold it away from his face. He gently rubbed Roger’s back instead. “Do you want to just go back to bed, love?” he asked. 

Roger shook his head, fishing a handkerchief out of the pocket of his jeans and wiping his mouth. “I can’t spend my entire pregnancy in bed or wrapped in cotton wool,” he muttered. 

Crystal didn’t see why not. If he had his way Roger would be wrapped in cotton wool in bed for the duration of his pregnancy. He said so and Roger laughed. “I’m not ill,” he objected. 

Crystal thought darkly that people who were feeling in tip-top condition didn’t tend to puke in flower beds but he kept this thought to himself. Roger was right, he knew but he was experiencing an almost overwhelming need to keep him safe. He looked so pale and tiny. “I want to make it better for you,” he sighed. 

“I know,” Roger said softly, “and that does make it better.” He lurched away from Crystal and vomited again. 

*

After lunch they all assembled outside of the room of mystery. Crystal felt slightly nervous about this although he was not sure why. Phoebe and Ratty looked ill at ease too. Then flickers of gold and orange and light blue and green showed on the door. They all made surprised noises and Freddie laughed. “It appears to be welcoming you, darlings!”

The room turned out to be very like a sitting room with a little kitchen at one side with a kettle and fridge and a door leading to a small bathroom. There were large cushions arranged in a circle on the floor – one in each of their colours. “Oh,” John said, “the room must have been expecting you – normally there are only cushions for us,” he explained indicating the other Queens and Miami. 

The settled themselves on the cushions. Crystal was glad that the room had placed him next to Roger. He could feel the magic – the air seemed thick with it – and then he realised he could see their colours shimmering in the air. He gasped. “Oh, it’s lovely!”

The others looked at him blankly. “What’s lovely, dear?” Freddie asked. 

Crystal flushed and began to say, “The colours – I can see them in the air.” He was surprised when Phoebe and Roger admitted they could see them too. 

“I always assumed you could too,” Roger told the other Queens and Miami. “They swirl about.”

“I can hear them,” Miami said cautiously, “but not see them.”

“Hear them?” Brian echoed, “What do colours sound like?”

Miami shrugged. “They each have a sound,” he said, “Roger is like a heartbeat. You are a sigh. Freddie is a whistle. John is finger-clicking.” He looked around at the others. “Phoebe is laughter. Ratty is buzzing. Crystal is tapping and I am rustling.”

“That sounds very annoying, dear,” Freddie noted. 

Miami laughed, “It’s like background noise and it’s actually surprisingly synchronised and soothing.”

Brian frowned, “I wonder why we don’t sense the colours,” he said, sounding slightly put out. 

“I wish we knew more about...everything...” John muttered.

“Perhaps the magic will guide us,” Phoebe suggested in a low voice. 

“What do you normally do?” Crystal wondered.

“We sit quietly,” Miami said, “and let our minds drift. Then at least one person usually has a vision.”

“Do you have visions?” Phoebe wondered. Then he blushed. “Sorry, is it rude to ask?”

“I suspect that the rules about what one should or shouldn’t mention in terms of magic have been designed to deliberately keep everyone in the dark about how it works,” Miami said, “and if all of you feel comfortable with it then I would propose that we ask what we want and have open discussions about our experiences?”

They all agreed to this. “In answer to your question, Phoebe, I don’t have visions but I do sometimes hear snippets of conversations that do not seem to be taking place in this room. It’s very hard to make any sense of them though.”

“So you hear the colours and you hear things rather than see them,” Freddie noted, “and you’ve never mentioned this before,” he added.

Miami blushed slightly. “Magic is taboo. And I don’t know anyone else who hears things. But, as I say, I think those in charge would like us to continue not talking about our experiences.”

“Perhaps we should set aside time at the end of these sessions to discuss what we felt or saw or experienced,” John suggested. 

“Yes,” Freddie agreed, “but for now, let’s be quiet and see if anything happens...”

*

Crystal felt silly sitting quietly waiting to see if something happened. He tipped his head back slightly and watched the colours swirling in the air. It was soothing – almost hypnotic. Perhaps the colours were an aid for the magically challenged. Perhaps the more experienced magicians didn’t need them. Although Roger saw them and Crystal suspected Roger was a powerful mage. 

As he watched the colours the red strand formed into the shape of a leaf above him. Raspberry leaf tea came into his mind. That would help Roger’s all-day morning sickness, he thought dreamily. He would make some for Roger later. 

The black strand above him suddenly formed into a square in front of his eyes. As he watched the air within the square shimmered and then he was suddenly looking through a black frame into another room.

The room was unfamiliar to him. The stone walls were scorched as if there had been a fire. The room was dark. There seemed to be heavy velvet drapes over the windows. There was no real furniture – only a few cushions in front of a huge fireplace with a fire burning in it. The cushions reminded him of the room of mystery although in the unfamiliar room the cushions were all dark red in colour. 

The room was empty at first then the picture shimmered and two figures appeared, settling themselves on two of the cushions. Crystal could only see their backs but one of the people was unmistakably Brian and he thought the other was Freddie.

The square turned black again and dispersed – the lines drifting back into the air like smoke. Crystal glanced around at the others and was surprised to find he could not see them distinctly. They were indistinct blurs. Did that mean the room had not finished with him yet? Was it like an exam where he would have to continue to sit quietly until everyone had completed their tasks?

He shrugged slightly and resumed looking at the swirling colours.

*

Crystal was not sure how much later it was when Roger broke the spell by muttering something and jumping up to hurry to the bathroom. Crystal rose too, feeling dreamy and detached and followed Roger. He knocked on the door. “Are you okay love? Do you want me to come in?”

When they vacated the bathroom John was making tea. He gave Roger a sympathetic smile.

Roger entwined himself with Crystal when they sat back down. Crystal wrapped his arms around Roger protectively.

“We thought we’d have tea and compare notes,” Freddie said, “If you feel up to it, Roggie, darling. You look very peaky.”

Roger mumbled that he was fine although Crystal silently agreed with Freddie that he didn’t seem quite himself. He thanked John for his tea. Roger was presented with peppermint tea and a digestive biscuit. “Thanks,” Roger said, “but I’m not hungry.”

“You need to keep your strength up,” Freddie told him disapprovingly. 

Crystal was torn between wanting Roger to eat the biscuit and wanting everyone to leave him alone. He held him a little tighter. “Just nibble on the edge of it,” he murmured, “and see how you feel.”

Miami cleared his throat. “Shall I start?” he suggested. 

Miami had heard a voice saying, “Where is Roger?” and many voices shouting indistinctly accompanied by gunfire and what he thought had been an explosion. “I think it was Freddie who asked where Roger was,” he said, “and the voice sounded worried. I’m not certain but I think that snippet was around the same time as the other gunfire and shouting sounds.”

“I think you heard the sounds that accompanied my vision,” John said, sounding slightly stunned. He looked around at them. “You know, I think maybe we have had coordinated visions! I saw me – and that in itself makes this so unusual because I never see myself in visions – and I saw Brian and Freddie opening the door to Freddie’s escape tunnel. Freddie was looking back and said something but I only see things I don’t hear anything. Then the scene shifted. There were armed masked troops running through the corridors of the castle. They were shooting but I couldn’t see what at. Some of them fell so I assume someone was firing back at them. I think they were in the corridor that leads to Roger’s tower when there seemed to be an explosion. The wall seemed to fly outwards.”

“Did you get any sense at all of how far in the future this was?” Brian asked, frowning. 

John shook his head. “I don’t know. We,” he gestured to himself and to Brian and Freddie, “had the same hairstyles and familiar clothes but that doesn’t mean anything. And my next vision was of the three of us emerging from the tunnel. Just a quick shot of that then the scene shifted again and we were in a place I don’t recognise.”

John described the room Crystal had seen in his vision. Once it became clear that this had been the last thing John had seen Crystal explained what he had seen.

“And what else?” Roger asked softly. 

Crystal frowned. “Nothing else,” he shook his head, “that was all I saw.”

“Something happened to you before you saw that,” Roger stated firmly. 

“I...All that happened was that I thought we should try raspberry leaf tea to see if it helps with your sickness,” Crystal muttered, feeling foolish. 

“Interesting,” Miami murmured. He looked at Roger. “How did you know?”

“I...I can’t really explain it...” Roger said, “It’s not something I’ve experienced before but...I felt...connected...to Crystal. I felt a kind of buzzing sensation in my head and I knew it was because something magical was happening to Crystal.”

“Do you think it’s because you’re pregnant?” John suggested.

“Maybe,” Roger agreed. “None of the pregnancy records note anything like it though and they do record magical anomalies during pregnancy. You’d think that when an olden days Queen was pregnant and one of the other Queens was the father they’d have experienced something similar.”

“Possibly,” Brian agreed, “but we can’t know for sure.” His eyes searched Roger’s face. “What did you see?”

Roger shook his head. “Not me,” he said, “Not yet. Ratty, now, I think.”

Ratty looked a little startled. “Uh...I saw you...um...You were heavily pregnant and you were going down the stairs that lead to Freddie’s rooms.”

“Ooh,” Freddie leaned towards Ratty, “how pregnant?”

Ratty shrugged. “I dunno,” he muttered, “I mean, Rog was huge...”

Roger looked outraged. “I beg your pardon?” he said icily. 

“I...er...Sorry...but...your bump...” Ratty spluttered. 

“Now, darling, you know what he means,” Freddie murmured, “and we need to figure out when all this shooting and unpleasantness happens.”

And why Roger was not with the others when they escaped, Crystal thought grimly. Roger shifted in his arms and he realised he was probably squeezing him a little too tightly. “Sorry, love,” he said.

“How did you know we should go to Ratty’s tale next?” John wondered. 

Roger shifted uncomfortably in Crystal’s arms again. “I just know the order,” he said, sounding a little defensive. “I just knew it would be Miami first – then John - then Crystal and Ratty after him – Phoebe next and then Brian – Freddie after that and finally me.”

Brian looked as if he was going to say something then closed his mouth again. Phoebe glanced shyly at Roger. “I’m next?”

Roger nodded. “You’re next.”

Phoebe took a deep breath. “I saw us,” he indicated himself and Ratty, “being removed from the castle at gunpoint. We climbed into the back of an army truck and sat on benches. Only Ratty and I seemed to be there. I didn’t see any of the other staff from the castle. We each had a small bag with us. It was snowing although there wasn’t much snow on the ground. The scene changed and I was in a cell. Through the barred window I could see that it was snowing heavily. I could see a high wall. Beyond it there seemed to be moorland with hills in the distance.”

Crystal shivered. “Thank you, Phoebe,” Roger said softly. “Brian?”

Brian cleared his throat. “I saw Freddie in a room I didn’t recognise. It looked a little like our great hall only bigger and with narrow slit windows. I think it was the same hall that Crystal saw as there were scorch marks on the wall. There were other people present - it looked as if people were camping out in the hall. I didn’t recognise any of the other people. Then the scene shifted and I could see John helping a figure who appeared to be injured through a forest. It was dark and there was snow on the ground.”

“Do you know who the injured person was?” Crystal asked. Injured or requiring help because they were heavily pregnant? Injured and pregnant perhaps – please not that.

Brian hesitated, “I think it might have been Miami,” he said. “I’m not sure, though,” he added hastily. 

Freddie glanced at Roger. “I’m not sure how what I saw fits in here,” he said slowly. “I could see an opulent bedroom with a golden four-poster bed and velvet drapes. The King lay on the floor face down in a pool of blood. It looked like he had been stabbed in the back. A bit of a cliché, I know. The scene shifted to show troops on the streets of a town or city.” Freddie shrugged. “I’ve never left the castle, as you know, so I have no idea where it was. There was a glittering building with a blue clock face on the front.”

“The quartz house,” Crystal, Miami, Ratty and Phoebe said in unison. “The town is called Cape Serenade,” Miami added. “It’s supposed to be a very magical place and the quartz house – which is no longer in use – was thought to be a powerful place to perform spells.”

“Well, it looked like they were under martial law, darling,” Freddie told him. “I saw similar scenes – I think they were in other towns. One had an old stone bridge which had been painted all the colours of the rainbow?”

“Dragon Hill,” Ratty said, adding, “I grew up near there.”

“There was a town or city with towering buildings. One of them resembled a glass ball,” Freddie told them.

“That sounds like Garden City,” Crystal said, “I’ve only been there once, as a child, but I think I recall that building.”

“And there were troops pushing an old man to the ground outside of a very colourful building with towers and balconies and flowers painted all over it,” Freddie continued. 

“That’s the temple of magic in Fountain City,” Miami told him. “Those sound like the settlements with the largest magical populations,” he added. 

“Well,” Freddie said sadly, “they were all under attack.” He sighed. “I also saw John and Miami in what looked like a log cabin. You were sitting at a table drinking tea.” He glanced at Miami. “You looked like you’d been beaten up, dear.”

Crystal thought he would have felt better if someone had seen Roger. If John had seen himself for the first time in a vision perhaps Roger would have too. He gently rubbed Roger’s stomach which gave no indication that it was housing a new life. 

“The order was a little like the buzzing sensation I felt when Crystal was experiencing magic,” Roger began softly, “I’ve never felt anything like that before either - although you all saw or heard things at the same time an order formed in my mind. I’m not quite sure how to explain it.”

The first thing Roger had seen was the outside of the castle. It had been surrounded by troops with military vehicles lined up on the bridge. He had been able to hear distant gunfire presumably from within –the sound muffled by the thick walls. Snow had been falling just starting to cover the ground. 

Suddenly, the side of the castle – at the base of Roger’s tower – blew outwards – large chunks of masonry flying through the air crashing into the moat raising plumes of displaced water. Fire glowed brightening the dark night. There was activity amongst the troops as they rushed away from the site of the explosion. A few ran towards it – perhaps wishing to see if they could be of assistance. 

The scene changed. Roger had seen Crystal sitting in front of some kind of control panel, laughing.

Crystal frowned. These visions sounded like no laughing matter. “Did you see yourself?” he asked impatiently. 

Roger shook his head. “No. So, I saw you laughing and then the scene shifted and you were in the great hall with the scorched walls.” Roger twisted in Crystal’s arms, “You were holding a baby,” he said in a choked voice. 

“Oh,” Crystal hadn’t considered that. He grinned. That was almost as good as a vision of Roger would have been.

“It doesn’t necessarily mean...” Brian started to say. 

“But it is the most likely explanation of why Crystal would be holding a baby, dear,” Freddie interrupted him. “Do go on, Roggie.”

“I saw Freddie, here in this castle, also holding a baby and looking out of his bedroom window,” Roger said. “And that’s all I saw.”

Crystal kissed the top of Roger’s head. He wished very much that someone had received a vision of Roger holding a baby. 

As if reading his mind Roger said, “Of course, our visions are only one possible version of the future.”

“Well, yes, that’s true,” John agreed, “but you are consistently the most accurate predictor,” he pointed out. “We should take notes,” he added, “and we should definitely do this again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I have set this in a magical world so that I can explain away anything I get wrong about pregnancy as "magical pregnancies are different" ;)
> 
> Similarly, their visions are one possible version of the future so I can mutter something about that if I get them wrong later!
> 
> If my lazy approach hasn't put you off then thank you very much for reading this! :)


	3. A Competent Magician

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains mentions of previous rape and previous miscarriage and a little pregnancy scare.
> 
> I promise there is a happy ending.

The messenger arrived just as they were about to have dinner. His Majesty was delighted to hear that the Red Queen was pregnant and would be arriving in two days time to perform the fertility blessing.

“The what?” Crystal muttered to Roger. He had thought the full moon dinner he’d slept with Roger after had been a fertility blessing. Roger was already pregnant so he didn’t need to be blessed with more fertility, did he?

“I’ll tell you later,” Roger replied unhappily. 

Miami found the messenger a seat and he was offered food. Roger pushed his own food around his plate. He had been ravenous but the thought of the fertility blessing had killed his appetite.

*

Roger had asked everyone to come to his rooms after dinner for drinks. He wished he hadn’t now. He wanted to cling to Crystal in private.

The smell of the alcohol turned his stomach. He looked around, feeling panicky and found Crystal by his side. “I can’t,” he whimpered, hurrying to the bathroom.

He was dimly aware of Crystal barking an order at someone and then Crystal was knocking gently on the door and entering, kneeling next to Roger and rubbing his back as he vomited. “I’ll sort out some raspberry leaf tea for you tomorrow,” Crystal promised. “It often helps with sickness.”

Roger gulped. “Thanks,” he gasped. Crystal helped him up and waited while he brushed his teeth. Roger was grateful for the solid support of Crystal’s arm around his shoulders as they returned to the others. He noted that Phoebe was now making the drinks. “Thanks, Phoebs.”

Crystal muttered, “Sorry if I was a bit abrupt there, Phoebe.”

Phoebe smiled. “Glad to be of assistance.” He held out a glass to Roger. “Grape juice and sparkling water,” he said. 

“Thanks, Phoebe.” Roger wished, not for the first time, that the furniture in his rooms was less heavy and formal. He wanted to curl up on a squashy sofa with Crystal’s arms around him but found himself perched primly on the barely cushioned seat of a wooden settle. Crystal’s arms were around him though, which was something. The thought crossed his mind that there might be a reason they had this heavy wooden furniture in their rooms when it didn’t feature in the quarters of any of the other Queens. He still had no ideas why that would be the case though. 

“What’s this fertility blessing, then?” Crystal asked.

Brian gave an impatient little snort. “Our full moon ceremony was a fertility blessing,” he cried, “It really annoys me that they call it that!”

“Every time a Queen becomes pregnant we receive a royal visit and Roger has to endure a tedious ceremony that the King thinks of as blessing him and his unborn child,” Miami explained. “There is no magical purpose to it and no need for it but the King likes it.”

“It lasts for ages,” Roger sighed, “and I’m worried I’ll puke at one of the serious bits.” 

“I hope you throw up all over him,” John muttered. 

*

Roger had not really expected the raspberry leaf tea to work so was surprised to discover that it drastically reduced his nausea and sickness. He still had to sprint to the bathroom sometimes though and he was still worried about the ceremony.

The King and his entourage had arrived late the night before. Miami and Freddie had greeted them. Roger had been safely cuddled up to Crystal in bed, although it had been a long time before his racing mind had allowed him to drift off to sleep. 

*

Crystal was wearing his green suit but Roger was wearing a white suit. “For purity,” he told Crystal, “meaning the baby is pure of course – not me.”

Crystal carefully pinned Roger’s hair into a neat bun so that if he did vomit it would be out of the way. “There,” he said softly when he had finished this task. “You look lovely.”

The ceremony was to take place first thing – before anyone had eaten anything and Roger was glad about that – there was less chance of him throwing up. He clung to Crystal’s arm as they descended from the tower to the great hall where the ceremony was to take place.

The walls, ceiling and pillars of the hall were festooned with strips of filmy fabric in all the colours of the rainbow. The sun was streaming in the windows and the hall was bright with colour. 

Roger’s white suit seemed rainbow coloured as the light danced over him. He smiled despite his unease about the ceremony.

The castle staff and the people the King had brought with him were gathered to either side. The King himself was sitting on a carved wooden throne on a raised platform at the far end of the room. To the King’s right stood his adviser Godfrey Knight and Miami was to his left.

Roger could not prevent a small shudder at the sight of Godfrey Knight. Crystal used his free hand to gently squeeze the hand Roger had placed on his arm. 

The other Queens were waiting by the door and fell into step behind Roger and Crystal as they approached the King. Roger glanced briefly at the people to the sides of the hall but didn’t spot Ratty or Phoebe.

They bowed to the King. Roger’s stomach lurched and he swallowed hard. Godfrey Knight’s sickly sweet cologne was wafting towards them fighting with a musky aftershave the King seemed to be wearing. Roger hoped this wouldn’t last for too long.

Crystal withdrew to the side, after giving Roger’s arm a reassuring squeeze, and the other Queens drifted away too. Roger felt horribly exposed. He knelt on the red velvet cushion placed on the first step of the platform below the King.

The King gave a rambling speech about how delighted he was to be here again and how thrilled everyone was at the news of Roger’s pregnancy. Roger stared fixedly at the polished wood in front of him and tried not to breathe too deeply. He reflected that the assistants had all been shocked to find the Queens gave birth to the next set. The King might say that his loyal subjects were ecstatic that Roger was pregnant but Roger was fairly certain that they had no idea he was carrying one of the future Queens.

The staff applauded once the King ceased droning. Roger carefully got to his feet. The King was standing too, holding out both hands to Roger. Roger placed his hands in the King’s hands which were soft and pudgy and unpleasantly clammy. “Beloved servant,” the King intoned, “we graciously accept your gift of new life. May you prove a safe vessel for our unborn next Queen,” he concluded.

Roger was glad that he didn’t have to say anything. He concentrated on keeping his face as still and expressionless as possible. He heard the assembled crowd murmuring, “Blessed be.”

Roger knelt on the cushion again while a choir that the King had brought with him sang the baby’s praises. Roger surreptitiously rubbed his hands on his thighs trying to rid himself of the taint of the King’s touch.

The choir were followed by a speech from Godfrey Knight in his role as Leader of the Magical Community. From what Crystal had told him there wasn’t much of a magical community. Roger wondered what powers Godfrey Knight had. He suspected Godfrey was a powerful magician. He suppressed another shudder. 

*

He was greatly relieved when he made it through the ceremony without vomiting. There was a short lull as the hall was prepared for a late breakfast and Crystal whisked Roger out of there, murmuring to him that he had done brilliantly. 

They went outside for fresh air. Roger felt his headache clear and he no longer felt quite so nauseous. “Thank you,” he said. 

“That’s the worst of it over,” Crystal said, “Just the breakfast and they’re going to be sitting with Miami and Brian for that. And then they’ll leave us alone.”

Roger shook his head. “I think Mr Knight might ask to see me,” he muttered. 

“Well, he can fuck off,” Crystal snapped. “He can’t just demand an audience with you.”

Roger smiled sadly at him. “The King is his puppet – he can do as he pleases.”

Crystal clicked his fingers and the air around Roger felt charged for a moment. He looked quizzically at Crystal. “I’ve put you in a protective bubble,” Crystal huffed. 

Roger smiled. “Thank you.” It was a sweet gesture, he thought, but Godfrey Knight would probably break it easily as he had done before when Miami had tried to protect him.

*

A messenger appeared hovering at Roger’s shoulder once everyone had finished eating. “Sir Godfrey requests the pleasure of your company in the drawing room,” the messenger said. “Alone,” he added nervously as Crystal stood up too. 

Crystal gave him a curt nod. “Well, you might like to tell your boss that Roger is protected,” he said. 

The messenger nodded, looking uncertain. “Don’t worry,” Roger told him, “I’ll let Sir Godfrey know.”

He followed the messenger to the little series of reception rooms in the castle. The drawing room was the smallest and cosiest room with a red and gold colour scheme. The red always made Roger feel better. 

Godfrey was waiting, standing by the decorated screen placed in front of the fireplace when it was warm. The messenger glanced nervously between Godfrey and Roger before silently withdrawing, closing the door behind him. “My assistant has placed a magical protective shield around me,” Roger informed Godfrey. “He was concerned about the number of people present,” he added. 

“Since you’re in such a delicate condition,” Godfrey said, sounding amused. He snapped his fingers.

Nothing seemed to happen. Godfrey frowned. He clicked his fingers again. Roger didn’t feel any change in the air around him. 

Godfrey strode across the room and reached out his hand to touch Roger. His hand seemed to hit an invisible barrier surrounding Roger who felt a little bubble of happiness swell within him – Crystal’s magic had apparently held out against Godfrey’s magic.

“Well, well,” Godfrey spat out the words, “A competent magician.”

Roger gave Godfrey the sweetest smile he could manage. “He’s very protective of...the baby.” He had almost said ‘me’ but something told him that the baby was a safer option.

Godfrey snorted. “He has displeased me greatly,” he muttered. “You are dismissed.”

Roger silently thought that in theory at least he out-ranked Godfrey. “Thank you, Sir, good day.” He forced himself not to run out of the room.

Roger was touched to find both Crystal and Miami waiting in the hall. He recounted what had happened in a low voice after looking around in case anyone was within earshot. Miami raised an eyebrow and looked at Crystal. “Your employment records don’t suggest you attained such an advanced magical level.”

Crystal grinned. “Officially, I haven’t.” He looked around. “Shall we go into the library?”

Once settled at a table in the library, Crystal explained that he had received the usual basic magical education. “They teach you just enough not to be a danger to yourself or others,” he explained to Roger, “but not really enough to allow you to do anything. You have to appear exceptionally talented to progress.” He glanced at Miami, “I’m guessing you progressed?”

Miami nodded. “It’s one of the requirements for the Colour Master. And Phoebe progressed too but not Ratty. I believe things are arranged that way so that Phoebe could take over if anything happened to me.”

Crystal nodded. “Well, I had a tutor who was suspicious of the progression process and taught me secretly himself.”

“But you ended up here anyway,” Roger concluded sadly. “And now they know you are more powerful than they expected.”

“Worth it,” Crystal growled, “if it stopped that creepy fucker from touching you.”

“I was very happy about that,” Roger smiled. 

Miami cleared his throat. “I’ve explained to them that any visions during pregnancy tend to be about the baby and that you, Roger, tend not to have visions at all. So there isn’t much point in them returning any time soon.”

Roger’s visions tended to intensify during pregnancy and the Queens had found a surge in their collective powers the last time. He grinned. “Thanks Miami!”

*

Roger breathed a little sigh of relief as the King and his entourage drove off. Crystal curved his arm around Roger’s waist. “All right, Red?”

“Oh!” Roger pulled away from Crystal in panic – he was suddenly in the drawing room again being pinned down by Godfrey, hearing that sneering voice call him Red. “No! You mustn’t!” He ran off, hardly knowing where he was going only that he had to get away. 

*

There was a knock on the door. “Rog,” Crystal called, sounding anxious, “may I enter?”

Roger sat up on the bed and shakily said that he could. He had fled to Crystal’s rooms and felt slightly bad that Crystal was now asking permission to enter his own bedroom.

The door opened a little and Crystal peered around it. “I didn’t mean to upset you,” he told Roger, “I’m so sorry.”

“Godfrey Knight called me Red,” Roger said, forcing the words out. He wrapped both arms around his chest. 

“I’m sorry,” Crystal slid around the door. “Roggie, can I hold you?” he asked. 

“Yes, please, I’m sorry,” Roger gabbled, “I just...When you said it...”

“I understand, love,” Crystal said, crawling onto the bed and gathering Roger in his arms. “I didn’t know.”

“Well, how could you have known?” Roger sighed. “You’ll have to go back to danger,” he muttered.

“It’s not quite right,” Crystal sighed. “And the baby is our little amber warning now,” he noted. He pressed his lips to Roger’s forehead, “I will find the perfect nickname for you, love don’t you worry!”

Roger grinned. “A nickname isn’t compulsory,” he pointed out.

“Yeah, it is,” Crystal insisted. He kissed Roger, his fingers brushing the side of Roger’s face. As they drew apart Crystal said, “If you feel up to it, Miami is going to tell us what he found out from the messenger and the King’s entourage.”

*

Everyone was meeting in Freddie’s rooms apparently. Roger hung back a little as they approached the door – he felt awkward about facing everyone after his outburst earlier. He was glad when Crystal drew him close to his side. “You don’t have to,” Crystal murmured. 

“I’m okay,” Roger muttered, not even convincing himself. He pressed against Crystal’s side as he opened the door.

Silence fell and Roger felt as if everyone was looking at him. Freddie unfolded himself from a chair and came over to hug Roger, gently peeling him away from Crystal. Roger buried his face in Freddie’s shoulder and felt Freddie gently rub his back. “I’m glad you’re here, dear,” Freddie murmured. “Come and sit down.”

Roger snuggled against Crystal in a squashy armchair, partially in his lap. He felt warm and drowsy. Miami began to tell them what he had learned from speaking to the messenger and the people who had arrived with the King. 

Not all of the entourage knew about Roger’s pregnancy. Only those at the higher level were aware of that. At lower levels and in the outside world people believed that the King was taking part in a Seeing Ceremony that would safeguard the future of the Kingdom.

The Seeing Ceremony was generally regarded as a good thing however the people were restless. The King was taking more and more in goods and taxes. “There has been trouble,” Miami said quietly. “The King’s Revenue Collectors were attacked in a place called Charmstone. Then the local landowner was dragged from his castle, Charmstone Castle, and badly beaten. The castle was set on fire although there was minimal damage and the little group of trouble makers were easily subdued but the King was apparently shaken.”

“There were scorch marks on the walls of the castle I saw in my vision,” Crystal noted. 

Miami nodded. “I’m not familiar with Charmstone but one of the King’s servants comes from near there. He told me that there is a forest – Charmwood – and on the edge of the forest is a prison near the village of Charmwell.”

“That sounds like an area we may be visiting at some point,” John noted. “You know, I’ve been thinking about our visions and there was no sign of us fading in any of them.”

“Perhaps we hadn’t been out of the castle for very long?” Brian suggested. 

“Perhaps,” John nodded, “or perhaps we figure out how to break the curse.”

Everyone contemplated that in silence for a few moments. It was Ratty who broke the silence. “Why doesn’t the King just blame the Queens for the increased expenditure? Why not say we’re greedy rather than him?”

“Perhaps it’s a fine line between people loving us because our visions are useful and demanding our removal because we cost too much?” Brian ventured. 

“He could blame us a bit, though,” Freddie noted, “and yet he doesn’t seem to. That is an interesting point.”

“I wondered if it was part of the magic, actually,” Miami said slowly. He flushed slightly as everyone looked at him. “There may be a curse but there also seems to be some kind of protective magic working for us.”

“We really need to know more about this,” John muttered. “How are you getting on with the book, Crystal?”

“I haven’t had much time lately,” Crystal replied. He sounded a little bit defensive and Roger gently squeezed his hand. “I’ll get back to it though,” he added, “see if I can find any answers.” He considered this. “There’s a bit in the book where I think it mentioned other castles but I couldn’t read what it said. What if the Queens used to own this Charmstone Castle when they ruled the Kingdom?”

“I’ll do some research about the Charmwood area,” Miami said, “The only other castle we are aware of that the Queens used is Castle Indigo, which was supposedly destroyed in the original takeover. Of course, we can’t know for sure the Charmwood area is where the prison Phoebe saw is or that Charmstone Castle is the castle some of us saw, but it seems likely. If there is a forest it might be where the cabin in the woods that was seen is too.”

“I think...” Phoebe started then stopped, flushing.

“Go on, dear,” Freddie encouraged him.

“I’ve been thinking about what we saw and...I wondered if we should all have bags packed that we have within easy reach at all times. It looks like we might have to leave in a hurry,” Phoebe mumbled. 

“That’s an excellent suggestion,” Crystal said.

It was sensible, Roger realised that, but that it might be necessary – almost certainly would be necessary – made him shiver. Crystal held him a little tighter.

“And we should review all escape options,” Brian said. He glanced at Roger. “With the explosion I think we need to assume that Roger’s route might be un-usable.”

Roger shivered again. “Maybe we ought to have packed bags near each escape route,” Crystal murmured, “or carry them with us at all times.”

“I do wish it wasn’t necessary,” Roger fretted.

“We all wish that, darling,” Freddie noted, “but – what’s that saying? – if wishes were horses then beggars would ride.”

Roger sighed. “I know. I know you’re all correct about this.”

“I’m not gonna let anything happen to you or the little warning,” Crystal assured him fiercely. 

“I know,” Roger said, giving him a little kiss. What if Crystal couldn’t protect them though, he wondered. As far as he could remember Crystal had only appeared once in their visions. Was Crystal with Roger? Or were they separated. He shivered again. 

*

Crystal was painstakingly trying to decipher the writing of the first Colour Master in the library. Miami was poring over a very old map. Phoebe was updating Roger’s pregnancy record.

Roger wandered off towards a corner of the library that remained unexplored. He had thought no one had been aware of his presence but as he walked away Crystal looked up, aiming a questioning look at him. Roger smiled, feeling loved. “I’m just going to see what I can find,” he said. 

“Be careful,” Crystal urged him. 

Roger laughed. “I don’t think the books will hurt me!”

As he wandered amongst the shelves he did wonder if any of the spiders who had made some impressively large webs in this overlooked corner would be big enough to swallow him whole though. He scanned the shelves, unsure what he was looking for – he had a vague and probably ridiculous notion that he would be somehow guided to useful knowledge.

The air seemed to shimmer around his feet and he felt a tingle of excitement. He squatted to peer at the titles on the very bottom shelf. There was a dog-eared paper pamphlet jammed between the end of the shelf and a large book. Roger carefully extracted it and blew dust from the cover. The front page said simply: The Hendrix Guide To Curse Breaking. Roger grinned. 

He was about to stand up again when light seemed to reflect off the large book the pamphlet had been next to. Roger eased it off the shelf and blew dust off it too, sneezing as he did so. This one had no writing on the cover. Roger opened it and discovered pages of hand-written notes. He squinted at the spidery writing. Then he gasped.

*

Crystal and Miami both looked up as Roger thumped his stack of thick ledgers and the curse-breaking pamphlet on the table. He triumphantly brandished the pamphlet at them. “A curse-breaking guide!” he declared. “And these,” he added, gesturing towards the ledgers, “are records of what the person who kept them called Vision Quests!”

“Well done,” Miami said, beaming as he reached for one of the ledgers.

“Those look heavy,” Crystal said disapprovingly. “You shouldn’t be lifting heaps of heavy books in your condition.”

“I was scared I wouldn’t be able to find them again if I left them in place,” Roger explained. “And they’re not all that heavy,” he lied, hoping this would appease Crystal. He also thought that he was perfectly able to lift a couple of books but knew that any protest of this sort would fall on deaf ears.

Phoebe approached, carrying a pile of books. Roger explained excitedly what he had found. “I’ll fetch the others,” Phoebe offered, “and we can start reading them.”

*

John sighed and set down the curse breaking pamphlet. “This would be great,” he muttered, “if only we knew the nature of the curse we were breaking.”

“Maybe one of the ledgers will hold the key,” Freddie suggested. “Or the diary – Crystal is still reading that.”

“Maybe,” John sighed, running both hands through his hair. “I hope so,” he muttered. 

“Actually,” Crystal said, “I think I’ve found something here...”

Joseph, the long-ago Colour Master whose account of the time immediately after the first captured Queens were imprisoned Crystal was reading, had apparently written about a Chaining Ceremony. “The King seems to have been present for this,” Crystal told the group. “And it sounds like it was intended to reinforce whatever curse had been placed on the occupants of the castle.”

Crystal read aloud Joseph’s words: His Majesty has come to the castle today in all his splendour and with many heavily armed guards. He is pleased that Purple is with child. He is also pleased that Pink is not and demanded that she be brought to his chambers. I attempted to place her under protection but the curse weakens such spells and so he managed to break it. 

“I wonder if that’s why your protective spell didn’t work for Roger, Miami,” Brian said thoughtfully.

“Crystal’s did,” Miami noted.

Crystal held his finger up, “Wait, though, I think this bit explains that...” Joseph went on to say that one of the King’s minions had tried to force himself on the Purple Queen either unaware that she was pregnant or not caring. Joseph had placed a protective spell on her too and this spell did hold. “They thought it was because Joseph was the father of the child,” Crystal explained. “The new Queen must be protected above all else so the curse allows magic that assists that.”

Roger shuddered slightly and his hand strayed to his stomach. Yes, the baby should be protected but not as part of an ages old curse. “What else does it say, Crys?” he asked.

Crystal related that Joseph had described the ceremony in some detail. All occupants of the castle and the King and his entourage assembled in the great hall. The ceremony took place during the dark of the moon – the first of the year. 

The curse was placed with some haste and the ceremony refined it. Joseph described a pentagram scratched into the stone flagstones on the floor with the tip of the King’s sword. The King had cut the palms of each Queen to scatter drops of blood in the centre of the pentagram. He had stood on one point and the Queens on each of the others. 

King Hubert had announced that he formally bound the Queens and all their future descendants to his will and the will of future generations of his family. He declared certain death if they left the castle. He ordered them to procreate to replenish their line. Each new generation of Queens should eliminate the previous set once they came into their full powers. 

Joseph had outlined each accompanying spell. John’s eyes lit up. “We can break it!” he cried, “We can break the curse!”

*

“Will he know?” Phoebe wondered as they stood looking at the very faint outline of a scratched in stone pentagram on the floor of the hall. “The King, I mean. Will he feel it when the curse breaks?”

“Possibly,” John nodded, “but not necessarily. Joseph suggested that further strengthening rituals were carried out by the original King and the ledgers mentioned similar subsequent ceremonies. Yet they have stopped now – they have possibly not been carried out in years. So has the magic been weakened?”

“Let’s hope so,” Freddie muttered, “so that it’s easier to break this thing.”

They were carrying out the curse breaking spell under a full moon. Ideally it should be the last full moon of the year but they didn’t feel they could wait that long. The attack they had seen seemed to be in winter but there was no way of knowing if it was before or after the New Year.

Crystal carefully jabbed the finger of each Queen in order to draw blood. He hesitated with Roger. “I’ll be fine, love,” Roger murmured. “It’s just a drop or two of blood.”

The Queens arranged themselves around the pentagram. Miami and the assistants hovered anxiously outside. On the empty point they had placed a carefully constructed little doll that resembled the King incorporating hairs from his head that Miami had taken from his pillow following his visit (“because you never know when these things will come in handy”).

The spell itself was fairly simple. They stated that they and future generations were no longer bound by the will of the King or his lineage. They rejected all the other clauses that had formed the curse for both them and their unborn children.

Roger could feel the magic pulsating around them. He thought he could feel the magic of the curse trying to stop them. But their magic seemed to be enhanced. Was it by the moon, he wondered? Or was the magic of the castle itself helping them? His mother had always said the castle was magical in itself but he had never realised what she meant until now.

The little doll burst into flames and he was dimly aware of the assistants gasping. The flames spread until the pentagram was burning around them. They intoned in unison that the curse was broken. The flames rose higher momentarily and then whooshed downwards and were extinguished.

“Well,” Freddie said, his voice slightly shaky, “that certainly seemed to do something.”

Roger wobbled over to Crystal and was folded into a fierce hug. “I hope that worked,” Crystal snapped, “because I forbid Roger to participate in anything like it ever again.”

“Forbid?” Roger mumbled into the soft fabric of Crystal’s t-shirt.

“Well,” Crystal sounded slightly defensive, “I can’t forbid you to do anything, of course, and I wouldn’t, but...”

Roger stepped back a little and looked at Crystal, “Yeah, it was intense,” he agreed. Crystal pulled him close again, gently rubbing his back.

“How do we know if it worked or not,” Brian wondered. 

“If the King was alerted then we should know all too soon,” John noted grimly. “They will try to curse us again.”

Roger shivered in Crystal’s arms. “Can we perform a protective spell?” he wondered. “We couldn’t before,” he noted, “not on the castle.”

Freddie considered this, “Our visions would suggest not as the castle seems to come under attack.”

“If we can’t then the curse has either not been broken or not completely broken,” John pointed out. “So I think we should try it.”

“Not, perhaps, tonight, though,” Miami said, glancing at Roger and Crystal.

“No,” Crystal agreed, scowling at everyone.

*

Later, lying in Crystal’s arms Roger said, “I didn’t realise powerful spell casting would turn you on so much.”

Crystal nuzzled his neck. “It was news to me, too,” he murmured, sounding amused.

Since Roger had been pregnant on the rare occasions they had fucked Crystal had been very careful with him as if Roger was made of fragile easily broken glass. Tonight had been more urgent. “It was fun,” Roger told him. 

“I wasn’t too rough?” Crystal asked, now sounding anxious. 

“No, love, you were perfect,” Roger assured him. 

*

The following evening they attempted casting a protective spell over the castle. This time the assistants joined in and Roger thought Crystal seemed happier as he could be by Roger’s side for this spell.

Afterwards, Ratty went outside and tried to throw a stone through a window. The stone seemed to bounce back off an invisible barrier. “It’s worked,” he declared as he rejoined their group. 

“That still doesn’t mean that we lifted the curse completely,” Freddie cautioned.

“No,” Miami agreed, “but it does make it more likely. I suspect we may receive a messenger soon.”

*

Roger sorted through old maternity clothes in lavender scented chests in a storeroom looking for outfits for various stages of pregnancy he could pack in what he thought of as his ‘panic’ bag. He thought of Ratty commenting that he had been ‘huge’ in his vision and looked for capacious leggings and smocks. 

If their visions were correct then he would be in an advanced stage of pregnancy when they had to leave. He sat back on his heels and stared at the little heap of clothing next to him without really seeing them. No messenger had arrived. Did that mean the King did not know the curse had been broken? Did that explain why the violence happened later in his pregnancy? Roger pressed both hands to his stomach. “I will take the best possible care of you, I promise,” he whispered. “And so will your daddy Crystal,” he added. He sighed. Fretting about the future probably wasn’t good for the baby. 

He stood up and was about to close the lid of the chest he had been looking in when a flash of red caught his eye. He delved back into the chest and withdrew a voluminous red shirt with swirls of glittering green thread running through it. “Oh,” he breathed, “this was meant for us, little warning - my colour and Crystal’s colour.”

Beaming, Roger scooped up his armful of clothes and headed off to his room. He found Freddie waiting for him. “I found some lovely things!” he exclaimed.

Freddie examined his findings and made him try some of them on. Roger was modelling the red and green shirt for him when he had to dash off to be sick. When he returned Crystal was there too – Roger thought Crystal had an uncanny ability to know when Roger needed him. He wondered if the link was actually to the baby. “Nice shirt, gem,” Crystal said, reaching out and taking the material between his finger and thumb. “Nice stuff.”

He had taken to calling Roger ‘gem’ and Roger liked it, although he had not admitted that to Crystal. He explained that it was from the chest of clothes he had been sorting through. He unbuttoned the shirt and hauled his t-shirt back on. As he folded the shirt he felt something in one of the pockets and withdrew a piece of paper.

“What’s that?” Freddie asked. 

“It was in the pocket,” Roger explained, handing it over.

Freddie unfolded the paper. “It’s a map,” he told Roger. He offered it to Roger who silently handed it on to Crystal. 

“A map of a building,” Crystal noted, “with one of the rooms marked with an x.”

“But what building,” Freddie wondered, “and what’s the treasure?”

“It’s probably something really silly,” Roger said, “like someone was staying at this place and that was their room or that is the loo or something!” But he could not help wondering if he had been intended to find the shirt and the map and if it was going to prove important.

*

Roger felt a rippling sensation as if the baby was swimming within him and he laughed out loud. “I felt the baby move!” he exclaimed. Quickening, he thought, that was what it was called – the baby was quickening. It was an odd word – a strange way to describe life – and yet it seemed somehow fitting. Quickening as if speed was required – speed and energy. Roger thought of how the Queens faded when their babies came of age – a slowing – a vanishing – the opposite of a quickening. He pushed the thought away – they had hopefully broken the curse. 

They were having dinner and he was immediately surrounded by people keen to see if they could feel the baby too. Roger reached for Crystal’s hand and pressed it to his stomach but although Roger could still feel the baby fluttering within him Crystal could not. “Too soon,” Crystal said sadly, “Little amber is all yours just now.”

“It almost feels like there’s a baby on each side of me,” Roger laughed, still delighted by this new feeling. 

“What do you mean, dear?” Freddie asked.

“I can feel movement on both sides,” Roger explained, “Maybe the baby is swimming,” he laughed. 

“Twins,” Crystal croaked. “Uh...Yeah, maybe it’s just the way the baby is moving...”

“Oh,” Roger breathed, pressing his hands to each side of his stomach, “Oh, is there a little amber and a little warning?”

“There are no histories of twins in the pregnancy records of the other Queens,” Brian pointed out.

“Maybe this is the first one,” Roger murmured. He looked at Crystal and then at Miami. “Is there a way to tell?”

“Yes,” Crystal nodded, taking a slug of wine, “there is a spell that can be carried out.”

*

Roger lay on the red cushions that had been waiting for him in the room of mystery. The others loomed over him and he felt nervous suddenly. As if sensing this, Crystal urged everyone else to sit on their own cushions. Roger was relieved when they obeyed. Crystal was kneeling next to him and gently brushed a stray hair off Roger’s forehead. “You okay, little gem?” he asked softly.

“Yeah,” Roger replied.

Miami knelt on the other side of him. He opened a little wooden box and withdrew a silver chain with a glittering ruby attached to it. He held the ruby above Roger’s stomach and Crystal placed his hand over Miami’s. The ruby began to rotate slowly then started to move faster and faster. Roger raised his head slightly, looking at it. The movement began to slow again and the ruby suddenly chimed twice like a crystal glass tapped with a spoon. “Twins,” Crystal croaked, “It chimed twice,” he explained to Roger, “once for each baby.”

Their eyes locked together. Roger thought Crystal looked as stunned – delighted – terrified as he felt himself. Everyone was murmuring congratulations. Roger wondered what sort of world he was bringing these children into.

*

“That’s weird looking gravy,” John commented as he slid on to the seat next to Roger at dinner time.

Roger flushed and looked down at his mashed potato. “It’s caramel sauce,” he confessed.

“On potato,” John clarified. Roger nodded.

“He had chocolate ice-cream and pickles yesterday,” Crystal told John.

“Weird food cravings,” Brian informed them, “seem to have featured in all the pregnancy records of the former Queens.”

“Do they?” Roger looked up from his food.

“Spicy things seem popular,” Crystal told him, “and ice-cream is very popular. One of them ate chalk.”

“That makes Rog seem almost normal,” Brian grinned.

“This is perfectly normal for a pregnant person!” Roger huffed.

*

Roger’s feet were in Crystal’s lap and Crystal was rubbing them. It was blissful. Roger gave a little moan of pleasure and then flushed. Crystal grinned. “Is that good, little gem?”

Crystal was maintaining the polite fiction that Roger’s ankles were “slightly puffy” when Roger knew the truth was that they had ballooned to approximately a million times their usual size. “It’s good,” Roger confirmed. He took a deep breath. “You know, if you wanted to be with someone else...I would understand.”

“What do you mean, Roggie?” Crystal wondered. 

“If you...I mean, I’m not at my most attractive...If you want to...to share someone else’s bed...” Roger gulped. 

“I don’t want anyone else,” Crystal said firmly. “I’m afraid you’re stuck with me unless you tell me to leave.”

Oh. Roger felt a little glow of happiness swell within him. The babies kicked as if they could sense this too. He smiled. “I don’t deserve you,” he murmured. 

“Yeah, you do,” Crystal told him. 

Roger hoped he was not alone when the castle was attacked. Subsequent visions had not revealed what happened to him and Crystal rarely featured either. That made Roger uneasy. 

They took their bags with them everywhere now, although Roger’s pregnancy was still not as advanced as it seemed to be when they had to flee the castle. They had started learning defensive magic too from a book John had found in the library. Before, the curse had prohibited all but the most minor of spells but now they could carry out much more complex magic.

From their subsequent visions it seemed that Phoebe and Ratty ended up in the prison Phoebe had seen in his first vision. Brian and Freddie appeared to be in the castle with the scorched walls and John seemed to be in the cabin in the woods. What happened to Roger, Crystal and Miami was less clear although Crystal and Miami seemed to appear in the cabin in the woods at some point too. Freddie had seen more unrest in towns and cities across the Kingdom. He had also seen Godfrey Knight in a military uniform. They suspected Godfrey took charge when the King died. 

The King had no clear heir but Godfrey was some sort of cousin so would have a claim to the throne. There were others with similar claims. Roger wondered how that would have worked with the curse if they hadn’t broken it. It had seemed to centre on the Queens having children and the Kings also producing heirs. Of course, they might find out how a more distant claimant would fare, he thought, as they did not know for certain if the curse truly had been broken. 

*

Roger’s pregnancy progressed. The leaves on the trees were red and gold. Roger liked the autumn colours. He walked arm in arm with Crystal. Anyone watching would have thought they didn’t have a care in the world. Instead, Roger sometimes felt as if he had all the cares of the world on his shoulders. 

A few weeks later a storm whirled the leaves from the trees. Roger found blood in his underwear. “That’s how it started before,” he gabbled to Crystal.

“It’s perfectly common, love, especially in twin pregnancies,” Crystal soothed him, holding him close. 

Roger did not tell him that the others had said that before. Spotting was common. He supposed losing a baby was common too. Crystal meant well, he knew. Everyone did. 

Freddie held him – smoothing his hair, telling him how loved he was, that they would all take care of him. Roger thought there was an unspoken “whatever happens”. 

Brian informed him that before the bleeding had started much earlier in the pregnancy. It was not the same, Brian stated confidently. This time would be different. Roger wanted very much to believe him.

John brought him cracked plates from the kitchen to smash and Roger loved him for it. John hugged him and murmured, “Let me know if you need to talk,” in his ear and Roger loved him for that too. 

And then, as suddenly as it had begun, the spotting stopped. The anxiety – that it might start again – that it would be worse – that one minute all would be well and the next minute things would never be right again – remained. 

Roger clung to the vision of Crystal holding a baby – of Freddie holding a baby. There were two babies in that vision, he reminded himself. He pushed away the thought – the fear – that the two babies had not appeared side by side in the same vision.

The weather grew colder. The trees were bare now. When they received deliveries they heard rumours of unrest in the Kingdom. 

It would not be long now, Roger thought as he waddled along on his walk, one hand cupping the mound of his swollen belly. A small foot-shaped lump was visible on one side of his stomach and he thought with amusement that one of the babies was lounging around. “Soon,” he murmured dreamily to Crystal.

“The babies?” Crystal asked, sounding alarmed.

Roger grinned. “No,” his grin faded rapidly, “the attack.”

*

Crystal had run him a bath, frothing with bubbles and sweetly scented. Roger was reluctant to heave himself out of the water but it was starting to get chilly. He was combing his hair, looking in the mirror, when suddenly he was no longer seeing himself. 

It took him a few moments to realise he was having a vision. A few moments more to realise what he was seeing. “Crystal!” he shrieked. 

Crystal burst through the door and Roger explained what he had just seen. “They’re coming!” he cried, “A colour army headed by Godfrey Knight! Crystal, they’ve reached Greenbridge! They’re almost here!”

Greenbridge was the nearest village to the castle. The Queens had only ever seen pictures of it but Roger was certain that was where the army was – the colour army. Colour armies were forbidden but Godfrey had evidently acquired one. 

“Get ready to move,” Crystal instructed him, “make sure you have your bag with you. I’ll go and alert everyone else.”

Roger felt slightly uneasy as Crystal left. He wanted Crystal with him. But Crystal would return and they still had some time before the army arrived. 

He chose his clothes carefully for travel – selecting items that could be layered – putting on his most comfortable boots – opting for comfort and practicality. He swung his bag onto his back, taking time to adjust the straps to secure the bag and to make sure they didn’t dig into him. 

Should he go and find Crystal? Or should he wait for Crystal to return to him? They should have discussed that, he realised. 

His instinct was to go and find Crystal but what if they missed each other? He thought uneasily of the explosion that had been foreseen on their side of the castle. All their escape plans had assumed his escape route would be unusable. 

He glanced out of the window. Snow was falling although it was not yet lying on the ground. Roger thought of Phoebe’s first vision – this looked like the weather he had foreseen. It looked like the weather they had seen when they had glimpsed the explosion and the attack. 

How much time did he have? Should he stay and wait for Crystal? Or should he move before he either got caught in the explosion or was trapped by it?

Roger placed both hands on his bump, feeling the babies move within him which calmed him a little. He had to make the right choice for them, he reminded himself. It occurred to him that he could now only move at a slow waddle and had to be particularly careful on stairs. The weight of his bag would probably also slow him down. 

How close were the troops? Godfrey had a colour army – an army of magicians – that would explain how they got through the defensive spell over the castle – superior magical numbers. Once they were in the castle Roger could not out run them. Could he find Crystal before they arrived? 

He heard the rumble of trucks outside and knew time was running out. As he moved towards the door the air in front of him shimmered and he halted, staring at the scene playing out in front of him. 

He could see Godfrey standing next to a jagged hole in a wall, with snow drifting inside. The site of the explosion, Roger presumed. Godfrey was screaming at a terrified looking soldier. Roger suspected the explosion had not been part of Godfrey’s plans. 

The vision faded. Roger thought he could hear faint voices around him. He glanced around and was startled to see a face form in the arm of the heavy wooden chair nearby. “Here’s what you need to do, Queen,” the wooden face said firmly. Roger looked around wildly and realised that there were faces in lots of the furniture. 

He thought, slightly manically that he had known there was something weird about the furniture. “Do pay attention,” a voice scolded him. He realised it was coming from a side table. “Normally we would talk you through the birth,” another voice explained, “but we have more urgent information to impart to you now.” That voice came from a large kindly looking face in the door.

Roger nodded. “Tell me,” he said, moving closer to the door so he could hear clearly.

The voice spoke, with other voices occasionally chipping in. Once Roger knew what he had to do he took a deep breath and opened the door to the corridor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Too weird? Too much time in the library? Let me know! :)


	4. Faint Screaming In The Distance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains mention of guns, a little bit of violence and a little bit of blood. Nothing too graphic.

Chapter Four Faint Screaming In The Distance 

Crystal was overseeing the evacuation of the bemused staff via the tunnel that led from John’s room to the hills when he realised that he had not discussed with Roger where they should meet. He felt a moment of utter panic – the one thing he had dreaded since the first vision of the attack had been that he would be separated from Roger. He hurried the bewildered staff into the tunnel and closed the door behind the last one. Then he turned and ran, hurtling down the stairs of John’s tower.

He met Miami running up. “They’re crossing the bridge,” he said, his face pale.

“I have to get back to Rog,” Crystal gasped. He also noted the bag on Miami’s back and realised he did not have his own bag with him. Stupid, stupid, stupid – he needed to get back to Roger right away. 

They both froze as they heard a hammering at the door. Time had run out.

*

Phoebe unbolted the door with shaking hands. Ratty hovered anxiously next to him. An impatient voice was shouting, “Open up in the name of the King!” and Phoebe wanted to tell him to give them a chance but he did not think he could speak.

The door creaked open, Phoebe and Ratty took up a position slightly behind it. They both had their bags with them. If questioned they intended to say they had just been going out but as armed men crowded into the entrance hall they were not asked anything at all – they were kicked to the floor and given cursory searches then escorted to a van and shoved in at rifle point. This was what he had seen in his vision Phoebe noted – shivering in the cold air – as flakes of snow settled on his coat.

The men who had encouraged them to walk to the van rushed off. Two men remained apparently guarding them. “What’s going on, mate?” Ratty asked. He was aiming for nonchalance but his voice was wobbling slightly. Their guards did not reply. 

*

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Crystal hissed. They had to get out of this tower. He had to get back to Roger. 

He had to get back to Roger before the explosion at the base of Roger’s tower.

He glanced at Miami. “You should follow the staff,” he muttered. He realised that they didn’t know what happened to Miami. He didn’t appear to be with John, Freddie and Brian. He didn’t seem to be captured as Phoebe and Ratty had been. Or at least they hadn’t seen that happen.

Miami shook his head. “It’s too risky to open that door again now. You focus on getting Roger. Take him to my rooms and use that escape route.” Miami seized Crystal by both shoulders and gave him a little shake. “Crystal, if you can’t find Roger then you must use that route to escape anyway, do you hear me?”

“I’m not leaving without him,” Crystal said stubbornly. It crossed his mind that he had never actually been shown the escape route in Miami’s rooms so to use that he would have to be with Roger.

“I doubt it will come to that, but you must promise me you won’t get caught, Crystal, please,” Miami begged. 

“I have no intention of getting caught,” Crystal assured him. He had no intention of leaving without Roger either, he thought. 

They crept down the staircase, keeping to the shadows. They could hear chanting. “Rog said that Godfrey has a colour army with him,” Crystal whispered, “I think they are breaking our protective spell.”

Miami nodded. “Perhaps we can sneak out of here while they are occupied with that,” he suggested. 

*

The vision was wrong about at least one thing, Freddie thought as they hovered by the door to his escape tunnel – he was not about to ask where Roger was. The subsequent visions had made it perfectly clear that Roger did not leave with them.

“We can’t wait for him,” John noted. His voice was gentle. “We have to go.”

Brian nodded. “John’s right, Freddie, we need to get out of here.”

Freddie sighed. He hoisted his pack onto his back. “Good luck Roger,” he murmured, “and everyone else,” he added. 

He entered the tunnel behind the others and closed the door behind him, plunging them into darkness.

*

One of the guards was stamping his feet to keep warm. “Got a light, mate?” Ratty asked.

The stamping guard seemed to take pity on him and brandished his lighter although the other one glared at him. Ratty thanked him and lit his cigarette, offering the soldier one which he accepted. Ratty asked again, this time managing to sound untroubled, what was going on.

The guards exchanged glances. “King Godfrey says the Queens used witchcraft to murder the previous King,” one of them explained. “They are to be arrested and tried for the crime.”

“Thing is, though,” the other guard muttered, “I heard the old King was stabbed. Funny kind of witchcraft that.”

*

Freddie thought they were approximately halfway along the tunnel when they heard a muffled roar which he assumed was the explosion. He couldn’t help flinching.

“We should be under the lake here,” John told them, “but it might not hurt to move as fast as possible.”

*

Phoebe started at the loud bang followed by a long sound of crashing stone. Ratty had jumped too. Their eyes met. The soldiers had also leapt to attention. “What the fuck was that?” one of them muttered to the other.

“Something’s exploded,” the other said worriedly.

Phoebe silently hoped that all of their people were out of the castle by now.

*

Crystal and Miami had been in luck – when they had reached the foot of John’s tower there had been no one in the corridor. Miami had headed towards Freddie’s tower and Crystal had started cautiously towards Roger’s. 

Crystal heard footsteps – lots of footsteps – behind him as he hurried towards the steps leading up to their rooms. He ducked into a window recess and pulled the curtain across it – it was not a good hiding place but hopefully the troops would simply sweep by without looking. 

“The Queens are to be captured unharmed,” a voice barked, “especially the pregnant one.”

Crystal heard muttering at that. The troops were evidently confused by the idea of a pregnant Queen. 

He jumped as he heard gunfire. “Come out with your hands up!” someone howled. There was further shooting instead. 

Crystal risked peeking out from behind the curtain. Someone lurking in the shadow on the stairs seemed to be firing at the troops.

The only person up there had been Roger when Crystal had left.

“Sorcery!” someone shouted. They sounded slightly amazed. “There’s no one there!” they clarified.

Another voice shouted a warning Crystal didn’t quite catch. It had something to do with a grenade. Then there was a flash of white light and he was flying.

*

Miami slipped quietly through the castle, keeping to the shadows. He cast spells as he moved – mostly freezing people where they stood which didn’t last long but was useful to allow him to move.

He froze himself when he heard the explosion. Had Roger still been in the tower? Where was Crystal – he had been heading in that direction.

Miami was heading towards the colour army who were chanting in the great hall. As far as he was aware the Kingdom had not had a colour army for centuries. Magical attacks were frowned upon. Magic was frowned upon to a certain extent in today’s society.

And yet Godfrey had a colour army. Godfrey was a sneaky bastard. 

Miami slipped into the room of mystery. He found a circle of candles awaiting him, floating in mid air. He stepped into the circle.

He could feel magic all around him – the air was thick with it. The candle flames all began to glow with different colours. 

The colour army had broken the protective spell on the castle – Miami had felt the spell weaken then dissolve although it had taken them quite a bit of time and he felt a certain satisfaction in that. Now, the colour army had turned their attention to a location spell.

They were trying to locate the Queens.

Miami stretched his hands out to his sides. “I call upon the magic of the Queens. I call upon the magic to keep the Queens and their friends and assistants safe. I call upon the magic to thwart those who would harm the Queens and those they care for. I call upon the magic of the castle to expel intruders. Work with me, I beseech thee.”

The candle flames seemed to rear up curving in a dome of multi-coloured flame over Miami’s head. He could feel the heat from the flames. Then they were extinguished and he was left for a moment in total darkness.

He could hear faint screaming in the distance.

*

Crystal shivered. His ears were ringing horribly. He rolled over. He was outside, he realised. It was snowing. He sat up and shook his head, hoping it would clear his hearing. It did not. His hand was gripping something tightly. He unfolded his fingers and found a piece of stone presumably ripped from the wall in the explosion. It was now the size of his palm and roughly heart-shaped. He slipped it into the pocket of his jeans.

The explosion had propelled him out of the window, he realised. The heavy curtain he had been hiding behind lay nearby. It was scorched, he noted. Crystal thought he had some cuts from the glass and he suspected he would have some spectacular bruises later but he didn’t seem to have suffered any major damage.

He scrambled to his feet. A wave of despair swept through him – where was Roger?

*

A shimmering of the air around Brian, John and Freddie told Roger that they had performed an invisibility spell to obscure them as they exited Freddie’s escape tunnel. He was watching from the cover of a little copse of trees off to one side of the mouth of the tunnel. For a moment he longed to go over to them and join their group. 

But he had to find Crystal. And he would slow them down. 

After his vision of the aftermath of the explosion and the instructions the faces in the furniture had given him he had carefully negotiated the stairs and carried out a complicated spell that would make it appear that someone was firing at any troops that tried to come that way. The main complication of the spell was making sure that no one he loved triggered it if they came along that corridor.

He had heaved himself back up the stairs and collected Crystal’s bag from their room before entering his own escape tunnel. Hampered by his bump and the two bags his progress had been slow and he had been afraid he might still be lumbering along the tunnel when the explosion happened.

He had been almost too exhausted to carry out an invisibility spell as he emerged from the tunnel and he felt the spell was weak but it did not matter as the explosion happened as he emerged and everyone’s attention was elsewhere. Roger had wearily trailed to the little copse of trees and had sat down to get his breath back.

His second vision had been very revealing and the faces in the furniture had given him very clear instructions. He waited. 

*

Godfrey was furious. “What fucking imbecile caused this?” he howled, gesturing at the fucking massive hole they had managed to create in the side of the castle.

“It was...Someone was about to throw a grenade when...There was some confusion when we realised there was no one shooting at us...And...The live grenade fell into a box of grenades...” the soldier Godfrey was shouting at stammered. 

Godfrey stared at him. “You absolute fucking shower of complete and utter fuck-witted idiots,” he hissed. “Get out of my sight.”

He thought he caught a glimpse of movement from outside and marched over to peer out of the hole but could see only steadily falling snow. He drew back from the wreckage and realised this section of the castle may no longer be structurally safe. 

He headed back down the corridor. If the Red Queen had been in his tower he was now trapped. Later he could spare troops to clear the rubble and search the tower. Expendable troops just in case the tower collapsed. He thought with grim satisfaction of those who had recently annoyed him who might be suitable for such a task. 

He heard screams and sounds of agitation from the great hall and frowned. That was where the colour army was. He hastened in that direction and met one of the colour soldiers stumbling along the corridor with one hand on the wall. The man was bleeding from his nose and ears and Godfrey was slightly shocked to see that his eyes looked as if they had a black film covering them. “Soldier,” he barked, “report!”

To his credit the man tried to stand to attention and salute. “Blind,” he moaned, “and deafened.”

Not, however, completely deaf, Godfrey noted. “All of you?” he asked and the man nodded.

Godfrey felt a surge of rage. Somehow the Queens had sabotaged his colour army. It shouldn’t have been possible yet they seemed to have managed it. 

He stamped his foot in anger. He was going to make those bitches pay. Where were they hiding?

And then it came to him – they had to be in the room of mystery. “Cecil,” he called, yelling for his second in command who appeared with satisfying alacrity, “the Queens have cast a spell on the colour army.”

Cecil gaped at him. “That shouldn’t be...”

“It shouldn’t be possible but they have done it. I believe they are operating from the room of mystery. Round up any still functioning members of the colour army and meet me there.”

*

Crystal heard movement from within the castle and pressed his body as flat as possible against a remaining piece of wall, holding his breath. He could hear shouting and gathered that some fool had dropped a grenade into a box of ammunition which had set off the explosion. Risking a glance upwards towards the gap in the wall he saw someone peering out and pushed against the wall harder as if he could merge into the stones. Then he heard footsteps walking away and risked another glance. There was no one there now.

He cautiously peeled himself off the wall and shakily moved towards the gap intending to re-enter the castle. Then, to his astonishment, the stones that had blown outwards from the wall began to float back into place – the damage started to repair itself. “Fucking hell,” he mumbled.

*

Freddie stumbled along the narrow track through the hills. They had agreed that it would be sensible to get as far away as possible from the castle. He wondered how the others were faring. He was worried about Roger although part of him acknowledged that Roger would have struggled with this path and they would have had to move at a slower pace. But they would have known Roger was safe.

He sighed and pulled his cloak further around himself. He wanted everyone to be safe. The snow was getting heavier. He thought it was going to be a long night.

*

Phoebe wondered if he should have used magic when they had first been apprehended. The soldiers guarding them were armed and had coloured sashes on their uniforms indicating that they were magicians. Phoebe didn’t think he would be able to cast any spells effective enough to get past them now. But perhaps he could have avoided getting himself and Ratty captured in the first place. He sighed. 

The visions had suggested this was their destiny but the visions showed one possible outcome. He told himself it was the most likely outcome though.

*

The door of the room of mystery was ablaze with colour. The shapes seemed to writhe. The door was seething, Godfrey thought, feeling slightly uncomfortable. He was glad when Cecil arrived with a group of five men who were blood spattered and looked slightly dazed but at least appeared able to see and stand up straight. “In you go, men,” he commanded. 

The men looked reluctant and Godfrey could not blame them. But one of the perks of being in charge was that other people did things like this for you. 

*

The glass was back in the window. Crystal sighed – he could not get back in that way. There were still lots of soldiers milling about at the main entrance. He briefly contemplated swimming across the moat and then across the lake and re-entering the castle via one of the escape tunnels – assuming he could find them in the dark – but surely there must be an easier way in?

He began to creep around the castle, staying close to the wall in the shadows. There was a door that led to the kitchen for deliveries and glass doors that opened onto a terrace at the rear of the castle. Perhaps they would be deserted – although he didn’t think he’d be that lucky – or at least less heavily guarded. 

*

Roger watched the damage repair itself and knew it was time for him to move. He heaved himself to his feet with difficulty, glad that no one was around to witness his undignified scramble. He had barely left the cover of the trees before he had started to drag Crystal’s bag across the ground behind him, unable to lift it up any longer. He had cast another invisibility spell but he knew he was too weary to have created full coverage. Still, hopefully no one was looking this way.

He almost stumbled past the entrance to the tunnel leading to Freddie’s tower in the darkness. Slipping inside he sat on Crystal’s bag for a few moments to catch his breath. Then he forced himself to keep moving.

*

The doors to the room of mystery would not budge. The swirling colours formed into hissing snakes as anyone approached the door. A high-pitched screaming noise startled anyone brave enough to place their hand on the door handle. The door handle would grow hot beneath their fingers. When one of the soldiers wrapped a piece of cloth around his hand and tried again the cloth burst into flames.

“They can’t keep this up forever,” Godfrey snapped, “They’ll grow tired and then we’ll get them! Let’s leave it for now men, good work!” He turned to Cecil. “I want every inch of the castle searched. Chances are they are all in there,” he gestured to the room of mystery, “but I want to be sure.”

*

There were bored looking guards outside the kitchen door. They were stamping their feet and smoking cigarettes. Crystal cast an invisibility spell and hoped it would be good enough to allow him to walk right past them.

He stayed close to the wall until he was at the door. He could smell the cigarette smoke and see a flake of food at the corner of one soldier’s mouth. He took a deep breath and concentrated hard on staying unseen then darted across the doorway in front of the soldiers and then moved close to the wall again. He maintained the spell until he had rounded a corner and was out of sight again. He was trembling with nerves and adrenaline and the effort the spell had taken. 

He had to find Roger. He kept moving, staying in the shadows.

*

The floor in front of Miami had slid apart revealing stairs leading down into darkness. Miami started to walk down the stairs, finding that although the floor closed over his head again the stairs were illuminated with little dancing spots of light.

He realised that he should not be surprised that there was an escape route none of them had known about from the room of mystery. He wondered if it was there all the time or if it only appeared when required. He shrugged – whatever its secrets he was glad to have a way out.

*

The terrace was deserted. Crystal breathed a sigh of relief. One of the doors leading onto it was also slightly ajar – a gauzy curtain billowed from it. Crystal could not see into the room and hoped he was not about to walk into a room packed with soldiers. He made himself invisible again.

The room beyond was deserted too. It was one of the reception rooms of the castle. He knew there was a staff passageway that led to the kitchens. But there were soldiers near the kitchen. 

The first reception room also had a route that staff could use to move quickly and discreetly between it and the kitchens. That one was a subterranean passage that had access steps in a corner of the great hall, in the corridor that led to the kitchen and in the corridors that led to Freddie’s tower and to Roger’s tower.

If Crystal could reach the first reception room and access the passageway and if there were no soldiers down there and if there was no one guarding the access steps to the corridor that led to Roger’s tower then that would be the quickest way to get there. If, if, if – too many ifs. Crystal sighed. But he had come this far. He could not give up now.

*

Roger reached the door to Freddie’s rooms and halted. He could hear voices. He tried to regulate his breathing – hoping whoever was on the other side of the door could not hear him gasping following climbing the stairs. He covered his mouth with his arm trying to muffle any sound.

“Anything?” a voice called.

“No sign of anyone,” someone replied. 

“And you’ve checked the wardrobe and under the bed?” the first voice asked. 

“Gee, no, I didn’t think of looking in any hiding places,” the second voice snapped sarcastically. “I’ve looked everywhere. There’s no one here.”

The voices grew fainter and Roger couldn’t make out what they were saying. He thought he should remain where he was for the moment so he could be certain they had gone.

*

Crystal made it to the first reception room without incident and cautiously started down the access steps concealed behind the jutting stone of the chimney breast. He peeked round the corner, looking each way down the passage. There was no one in sight but he could hear faint voices. He was unable to tell which direction they were coming from however. He bit his lip. Should he move? Should he try another route?

Any other route was more likely to have soldiers moving along it. He moved off slowly, keeping close to the wall again.

The voices grew louder as he approached the access steps that led up to the kitchen corridor. There was no one in the corridor he was moving along though so he reckoned the voices must be floating down from the room above. He wrinkled his nose – it smelt as if someone had pissed down the steps.

He cast a concealment spell to cover him while he moved by the access steps and then hurried towards the access steps that would take him out close to the foot of Roger’s tower. He moved as quickly as he could while trying to stay quiet.

He hoped that following the explosion everyone would have abandoned Roger’s side of the castle. Crystal was banking on no one else having realised that the castle had repaired itself. Even so, he listened carefully before he risked popping his head up into the corridor. These access steps were tucked away next to a window but he still felt vulnerable as he emerged. 

The corridor was empty. Breathing a shaky sigh of relief Crystal ran for the stairs, hurtling up them – throwing caution to the wind. He was not sure how he knew there was no one there but he was absolutely certain he would not meet anyone on the staircase. 

He flung open the door to his rooms – the rooms Roger now shared – and almost tripped over a heavy wooden chair that had been placed close to the door. There was a note pinned to the seat cushion with a knife. 

Crystal withdrew the knife and tucked it into his belt. He picked up the note which read: I’ll meet you in Miami’s rooms. I’ve got your bag. Take the sunken route to Freddie’s tower. Love Roger. P.S. Take care as you pass the great hall.

Crystal grinned. He folded the note and tucked it into the pocket of his jeans. The sunken route was what Roger called the passageway he had just taken to get here. He left the room and ran back down the stairs and slipped back down in to the below ground level passageway.

He began to worry again once he was moving along the little corridor. Roger should not have been lugging about any of that heavy furniture in his condition. Roger should not be carrying Crystal’s bag as well as his own. Roger should not have been alone all this time. Alone and having visions, apparently – and he was vulnerable when he was gripped by a vision.

He heeded Roger’s warning about the great hall and cast an invisibility spell well before he reached the access steps. He could hear voices and moved slowly. As the steps came into view he realised there were people sitting on them – soldiers. They looked like they had seen some action – he could see blood on their uniforms and some of them were groaning. One had blood streaming from his nose.

Crystal crept past them hoping they were too preoccupied with their own suffering to notice him. They were part of the colour army he noticed and he wondered what had happened to them.

“Did you see something down there?” one of them asked. 

Crystal froze, concentrating hard on the invisibility spell. “I didn’t see a thing,” another said with a shrug.

“Maybe a rat,” someone suggested. 

“Perhaps,” the first man seemed doubtful but Crystal did not think he would come down to check the passageway. He very slowly edged along until he was out of sight of the group on the stairs.

He was tempted to run – the next access point was the one he wanted. But he did not want to cause any sound or do anything that might alert the soldiers to his presence. So he forced himself to move with great care.

The access steps to Freddie’s tower emerged just to the side of the staircase. Crystal emerged cautiously and ducked back down as he heard footsteps clattering down the stairs. “This is a fucking waste of time,” one of the soldiers muttered. “Apart from those two who opened the door we haven’t seen another soul here. I reckon they left before we arrived.”

“Yeah, well you don’t get paid to think,” his companion growled. “Come on, we’ll do one of the other towers.” 

Crystal waited until they were out of sight before leaving his hiding place and moving as swiftly as he dared up the staircase. He could hear a thumping noise and cast his gaze around for a hiding place when he heard a loud sigh he would have recognised anywhere and ran towards it. 

Roger looked exhausted, trudging down the stairs with one hand cupping his bump and the other dragging Crystal’s bag which was making the thumping noise. His face lit up when he saw Crystal and Crystal could feel his own face breaking into a grin. He wrapped his arms around Roger, huffing a little as the backpack got in his way. He pressed his lips to Roger’s face, covering it with little kisses.

“I love you too,” Roger whispered. “Come on, we’d better get moving.” 

*

Crystal had never been in Miami’s rooms before but didn’t have much time to look around. Roger was moving at a fast waddle towards the window. Crystal frowned. “What’s goin’ on ‘ere, then, little gem? Is there a rope ladder involved?” There better not be – Crystal had no intention of allowing Roger to scramble down a rope ladder.

Roger grinned at him. “You’ll see,” he said gleefully. He opened the window and a burst of cold air swirled into the room along with some flakes of snow. 

To Crystal’s alarm Roger clambered onto the window ledge. “Careful, Roggie,” he cautioned him, reaching his hand out towards the pack on Roger’s back in case he needed to grab hold of him. Roger stretched his own arm out and suddenly there was a creaking sound and a doorway opened in mid-air. Crystal was still staring in astonishment at the door when Roger hopped out of the window and through the doorway.

Roger turned back and grinned at Crystal again. “Come on, then!” he urged him, “And put your pack securely on your back so it doesn’t fall – there’s a slight gap.”

Crystal would never have admitted to anyone the flutter of terror he felt when he was leaping from the window to the improbable doorway in the air. He stumbled as he landed and Roger steadied him. The door creaked shut behind him and he looked around curiously then laughed. “What is this, some sort of airship?”

“Exactly that,” Roger nodded.

They were in a little control room. Crystal thought of the vision of him sitting at a control panel and wondered if it was this one. Roger placed his hand on a glass screen and a disembodied voice said, “Welcome, Red Queen.”

“Greetings, Ship,” Roger replied. He glanced at Crystal. “There is a pre-programmed escape route. Should I use that?”

Crystal nodded. Roger asked the ship to perform an emergency departure and the disembodied voice said it would. 

“Does it just fly itself, then?” Crystal wondered. 

Roger nodded. “I can fly it manually, too. I’ll show you how – but maybe tomorrow?”

He looked utterly exhausted. “Yeah, love, it can wait until tomorrow. This thing’s invisible, is it?” Crystal asked. Roger nodded. “Is there more to it?” Crystal glanced at a door that seemed to lead out of the little control room. Roger nodded again and Crystal opened the door. 

The airship consisted of the control room, a little sitting room with seating that could be folded down to form a bed and a little food preparation area and a little bathroom at the rear. “Very cosy,” Crystal noted. He slid his pack off his back and helped Roger remove his. Roger curled up in a chair, curving himself around his bump and Crystal thought that was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. He was consumed with the need to look after Roger. “Would you like some tea, love?” He headed towards the kitchen area, “If we’ve got any, of course.”

He discovered the kitchen was well stocked – mainly with non-perishable food stuffs. There was a plentiful supply of tea and there was milk in a little fridge. Crystal made them tea and found some biscuits. 

They told each other their stories as they ate and drank. Roger nestled against Crystal. “It was easy for me,” he murmured, “because my vision showed us meeting again.”

Crystal kissed Roger’s forehead. “I’m sorry you had to do all that walking about with heavy bags,” he said. “Do you feel okay?”

Roger nodded. “Just tired,” he said.

“Let’s get you into bed, then,” Crystal suggested.

Roger grinned. “You always want to get me into bed!”

“To sleep,” Crystal huffed, “as you very well know.” 

*

They were leaving tracks in the snow now. But fresh snow was quickly covering their footsteps. They had halted briefly to rest and drink from their water bottles but everyone had agreed it was better to keep moving.

Freddie thought it was starting to get lighter and realised they must have been walking all night. They had started to go downhill now which he had thought would be easier but seemed more treacherous when the snow largely obscured the track and they didn’t know the landscape.

“We should reach the little settlement of Ice Lake shortly,” John said sounding doubtful.

Freddie suspected that John also found it hard to believe anyone would choose to live out here. They had studied maps and this was an isolated corner of the Kingdom. And Ice Lake sounded like a cold and unforgiving place to be.

They trudged on and the sky grew lighter. The snow still drifted down but not as heavily now. The landscape was desolate but had a sort of majestic beauty, Freddie thought. And everything looked fresh when it had a clean blanket of snow thrown over it. 

They rounded a corner and a large lake filled with white coloured water lay before them. At the other end of the lake from where they were standing they could see a cluster of buildings and smoke rising into the still air from chimneys.

“How beautiful,” Freddie murmured. 

Brian had moved closer to the edge of the lake. “Interesting,” he said, “the lake bed seems to be white and that is presumably why the water appears white also.”

“Let’s go and have a look at the village,” John suggested. “Perhaps they’ll have an inn.”

*

“I could get used to this,” Roger joked as Crystal brought him breakfast in bed.

“You could have been getting used to this from the minute I knew you were pregnant if you’d wanted,” Crystal told him slightly defensively. “You could have just stayed in bed the whole time.”

Roger laughed. “Then I’d be even bigger than I am now!”

“That’s all baby bump not you,” Crystal assured him, gently caressing the mound of Roger’s belly under the covers. “And you are having twins,” he pointed out. He kissed Roger. “Where are we going, then?” he asked. 

“The pre-programmed route takes us to another castle,” Roger told him. “Castle Indigo, which apparently was a place the older Queens used back when we could move about without...fading away.”

Crystal considered this. “Will Godfrey know about it?” he wondered. 

“The Kings think the other castle is ruined,” Roger said, “It’s in a remote place too and I don’t think anyone ever checked it out.” He reached out and brushed Crystal’s cheek with his fingers. “It will be a good place to hide for a while, I think.” He withdrew his hand from Crystal’s cheek and placed it on his bump, “I need to be somewhere safe for the birth.”

Crystal nodded. “I will look after you,” he assured Roger, “I promise.” 

“I know,” Roger said softly. 

*

There was an inn. Freddie wasn’t sure what time it was but was fairly certain any normal person would still be in bed. The inn door was closed. “Should we knock?” he wondered. But if they woke someone up would they receive a hostile reception. 

They were still dithering about this when the door opened. A man came out and stopped, staring at them in surprise. “Good morning!” the man cried, recovering quickly. “Come in, travellers - come in out of the cold!”

As they entered the man had already launched into his life story. His name was Eddie, he told them, and he owned the inn. “We get a lot of visitors over the summer months. People on walking holidays come to see the lake,” he informed them. “Not many people visit in the winter, though. Sit down,” he urged them, “sit by the fire. I’m not usually up so early,” he confided, “but I couldn’t sleep last night and I confess I thought I would go out before any one was around and make footprints in the snow.” He blushed. “I’ve always liked doing that. It’s very childish of me, I know. Now, you must be hungry. Let me rustle up some breakfast for you!” 

There was silence while they ate, gathered around a table in front of the fire. Freddie felt as if he was thawing out slowly. He had not realised quite how cold he had been.

Once they had eaten Eddie asked if they had come from the Colour Castle. “What makes you ask that?” John wondered, his voice sharp.

“We heard there was trouble,” Eddie told him.

“What have you heard?” Brian asked.

Eddie told them that the King had died. “The rumour is that he was stabbed in the back. His adviser, Godfrey, has claimed the throne. There were some protests about that and we hear rumours many of the protestors were killed. We heard rumours that Godfrey has a colour army too.”

Freddie nodded. “He does,” he confirmed. He glanced at John and Brian. “We did come from the castle,” he continued.

Eddie nodded, looking satisfied. Then he looked slightly alarmed. “Where’s the fourth Queen?”

*

Phoebe shivered in the cold cell. The window was cracked and some snow had settled on the window-sill. The blanket he had been given was thin and did not offer much warmth. He wondered where the Queens were now. 

*

They discovered that those in the villages surrounding the Colour Castle knew much more about the Queens than the rest of the Kingdom. This was in part because these villages and towns provided staff for the castle.

“There are others,” Eddie had told them. “Others who would like to see the Queens restored as the rulers of the Kingdom.” He considered this. “I expect it would be a Queen-dom then, wouldn’t it? Anyway, the people who don’t believe in the right of the Kings to rule are out there all over the Kingdom agitating against Godfrey now.”

“There is general unrest?” Brian queried.

Eddie nodded. “We hear that there have been uprisings in every good sized town or city in the land and a lot of smaller places too. The word on the street is that Godfrey doesn’t have enough troops to cope with all the protests.”

John nodded looking thoughtful. “I think maybe we have been stupid,” he sighed, “we ought to have been trying to focus to visualise what action we should take after the attack on the castle.”

“We’ve seen that though, haven’t we?” Brian frowned. “We rescue Phoebe and Ratty and possibly Miami, don’t we?”

“Do we?” John countered, “We don’t actually know what happens.”

Freddie realised this was true. “Almost all the visions were about the attack with some glimpses further ahead,” he noted. “John’s right, we don’t know and we are going to have limited sight now without Roger.” His voice broke a little as he said Roger’s name.

“Is Roger the fourth Queen?” Eddie asked.

Freddie nodded. They had given Eddie their names but now he said, “I’m the Black Queen, John is the Copper Queen and Brian is the White Queen. Roger is the Red Queen. But we have been separated from him.” He did not mention that Roger was due to give birth any moment. Eddie seemed okay but Freddie was not sure they should trust anyone too much.

“Perhaps we should see what we can see even without Rog,” Brian suggested. He glanced at Eddie. “If there is somewhere private where we can meditate?”

Brian’s tone was apologetic. Freddie thought he did not completely trust Eddie either. Eddie did not seem offended. He said that, yes, of course, they could have one of the bedrooms.

He led them upstairs to a plain functional bedroom. It was chilly. “I’ll light a fire,” Eddie offered.

John shook his head. “This is fine, thank you.” Once Eddie had departed John locked the door behind him and cast a protective spell and an anti-eavesdropping spell on the room. “I’m sure it would be fine,” he muttered to Freddie and Brian, “but we can’t take any chances.”

They sat in a circle on the dusty carpet and held hands. Freddie closed his eyes and focussed on his breathing. Opening his eyes again he looked upwards at the ceiling – once white now yellowing probably from cigarette smoke. There was a small crack running across one corner. As he looked at the ceiling the air shimmered and a picture began to form. Here we go, Freddie thought.

*

It didn’t take long for Roger to show Crystal the manual controls for the airship. They glided onwards over snowy forests and sparkling rivers. The sun hung low in the sky. 

Roger shifted uncomfortably in the little co-pilot’s seat. Crystal asked if he was okay. Roger sighed. “Just...huge...and hot and I can’t see my own feet,” Roger grumbled, “and it’s your fault,” he added.

Crystal grinned. “Aw...my poor little gemstone feeling all sorry for himself,” he cooed, kissing Roger’s cheek. In a more serious tone he said, “What would make you feel better? Would you like a massage?”

Roger perked up. “Yes please, that’d be lovely!” he beamed. 

Crystal settled him on his side with cushions under his head and under the bump. He applied gentle pressure to Roger’s shoulders. “You’re tense, little gem,” Crystal commented disapprovingly. But Roger could feel the tension seeping out of him as Crystal touched him, moving his hands over Roger’s back. 

“The babies like this too,” Roger announced dreamily. 

“Good,” Crystal murmured, giving him a little kiss. He kissed Roger’s bump too on each side.

“Did they kick you in the face?” Roger wondered with a little giggle.

“No, they didn’t,” Crystal huffed. “Behave or I’ll stop working my magic on you!”

“You’ll never stop working your magic on me,” Roger laughed.

*

“Okay,” John said briskly, “shall I go first?” Freddie and Brian both nodded. “I saw a meeting. Men and women sitting round a table. Miami and Phoebe were there but I didn’t recognise the others. Miami still looked like he’d been in a fight. Then I saw celebrations in various towns and cities.” He grinned, “It looked hopeful.”

“As long as they weren’t celebrating Godfrey’s coronation,” Brian commented. 

“I’m hoping you didn’t see that, dear?” Freddie told him.

Brian shook his head. “I saw Miami, Phoebe and a man I didn’t recognise walking by the moat at the castle. It looked like it was springtime. Then I saw John and Roger paddling along a beach. The sun was shining. It looked warm. I don’t know where they were. There were other people enjoying the beach too – families with children.”

Freddie’s eyes shone. “Perhaps we take Roger’s children on an excursion to the seaside!” he said enthusiastically.

“Perhaps,” Brian nodded. “Anyway,” he continued, “I also saw you, Freddie, in your room at the castle and you looked like you were pregnant.”

Freddie stared at him. “I can’t get pregnant, darling,” he said after a moment.

Brian shrugged. “It’s what I saw.”

John frowned. “Interesting,” he murmured. He looked at Freddie. “What did you see?”

Freddie pushed the idea of him pregnant to the back of his mind and reported that he had seen Roger sitting in Freddie’s rooms drinking wine and laughing. He had been relieved to see Roger back at the castle, happy and no longer pregnant. Then the scene had changed and he had seen Godfrey standing on a balcony looking out over a courtyard filled with a vast colour army. 

“He must have been building a colour army for a long time,” John noted.

Freddie nodded. “He looked like he was giving them a pep talk,” he continued. “Then the scene changed and the colour army were marching towards a hillside. There were figures standing at the top of the hill. I couldn’t see how many but only a couple of handfuls at most – facing this army. I was viewing the scene from a distance so I can’t be certain but I feel that we were amongst the people at the top of the hill.”

“So we have to defeat a colour army?” John sighed. “Marvellous.”

*

Roger absent-mindedly ran his hand over his bump. The babies were very active. He wondered how much longer until they reached the castle. He did not think they could be very far away now. He peered out of the window at the snowy forest they were currently flying over. The snow made everything look clean and pretty. An enchanting covering that hid any underlying blemishes or nastiness. 

He wondered what they would find once they reached the castle. Hopefully there would be spells in place that would have kept it in reasonable condition despite it being uninhabited for many years. He uneasily thought that it would be a bit of a disaster if the place was actually a ruin. His hand slid across his bump again, which seemed to have tightened. He knew he could give birth at any moment and he acknowledged that he was anxious about where and under what circumstances he might end up bringing the babies into the world. Part of him wanted to blurt out his fears to Crystal and allow Crystal to hold him and comfort him. Part of him knew Crystal would be worrying too and he wanted to shield Crystal from any further stress.

He glanced at Crystal, “It’s pretty, isn’t it?” he said. 

Crystal grunted. “It looks sparsely populated, that’s for sure,” he noted. 

Roger grinned. “Just you and me,” he murmured, “in front of a cosy log fire – there appears to be lots of wood for our cosy fire.” 

Crystal smiled but Roger thought he looked a bit uneasy. Perhaps he was thinking what had crossed Roger’s mind – they were probably going to be on their own when the babies arrived. Roger had read all he could find about twin births and knew all the things that often went wrong. He told himself firmly that nothing was going to go wrong. And Crystal was a healer – he would not let anything go wrong.

*

Freddie opened his eyes and gasped. He had just scrambled to his feet as they prepared to go back downstairs when the vision had engulfed him. He felt as if he had been in the scene. “We need to leave now!” he told the others urgently. “There are soldiers on their way here now! Including part of the colour army. They are looking for us!” 

Brian looked like he was about to ask questions but seemed to think better of it as John nodded and briskly started to issue orders. They should all put their outdoor clothes back on and fetch their packs. They would ask Eddie if there was a back way out of the inn.

Eddie was surprised to hear they were leaving so suddenly. “There are soldiers on the way,” John explained, “It might be best if you deny having seen us.”

Eddie nodded. Freddie wondered if they could trust him. He felt slightly guilty for thinking that as Eddie had been kind to them but they had no way of knowing if Eddie would tell the soldiers immediately that the Queens had been there and had just left by the back door.

Eddie was telling John about a cave they could hide in and giving him directions to it. Freddie wondered if they should do that. Was it a trap?

He stumbled out of the back door of the inn behind the others and they all walked swiftly and silently in the direction Eddie had indicated which was away from the main road. Their tracks in the snow would be far too easy to follow Freddie thought.

They were heading down a lane that ran between the buildings of the town. John halted once they were out of sight of the back door of the inn. “Our footprints in the snow are an issue,” he noted. “And I’m not sure how much we can trust Eddie. He seemed okay but what if he directs the soldiers to this cave he has told us about? Or what if there is no cave?” John sighed.

Freddie’s vision clouded over again as it had done in the inn. This was not how he normally ‘saw’ things he reflected as the vision swept over him.

When he opened his eyes again the others were looking anxiously at him. He smiled at them. “I know where we should go.” 

*

The castle seemed to emerge from the rocky hill it stood upon as if it had grown upwards out of the stone. The air ship dipped down towards it. Roger wondered where they were going to land. He could not quite see how one entered the castle – it looked impregnable. 

His bump felt tight again. He quietly urged the babies to hold on a little longer until they were somewhere nice and safe before they put in an appearance.

“Almost there,” Crystal noted.

Roger nodded. “Where do you think we’ll land?” he asked.

Crystal peered out of the window. “I reckon there might be a courtyard beyond those walls and my guess is that’s where we’re heading. The only other possibility would be at the foot of the hill, I think.”

“I hope we’re heading to a courtyard then,” Roger muttered, “because you might have to carry me up the hill otherwise!”

“I could just roll you up,” Crystal suggested, grinning and dodging the blow Roger aimed at his arm.

*

As Crystal had thought the air ship drifted down into a snowy courtyard. Crystal was glad they had reached the castle and even more glad that it seemed to be intact and not some overgrown crumbling ruin. Roger looked pale and he would be happy to get him inside and settled by a nice cosy fire. He hoped he would not have to venture out to find firewood. He grimly thought that at the moment he might have to burn furniture because he was not going to leave Roger.

The disembodied voice of the auto-pilot announced that they had reached their destination. Crystal grabbed their bags and followed Roger out of the air ship. Roger was laboriously clambering down a ladder that had unfolded from the door when he opened it and he started slowly waddling towards a wide set of steps up to a large carved wooden door that reminded Crystal a little of the door to the room of mystery back at their castle. 

Roger stopped suddenly and gave a little gasp. “Rog?” Crystal hurried towards him and saw a puddle appear at Roger’s feet.

Roger made a mewling sound. “Crys,” he gulped, “m’ waters have broken.”

Crystal gently rubbed Roger’s back as he doubled over, evidently gripped by a contraction. “It’s okay, love, I’m here.” The timing wasn’t great, he reflected, but on balance it was probably better than Roger giving birth in the air ship. 

Roger gasped. “Oh! There isn’t meant to be anyone here!”

Following his gaze Crystal saw the carved door opening and a figure emerging from it. Roger moaned softly as he was gripped by another contraction. Crystal moved slightly ahead of him, ready to defend him if necessary. “Your timing’s a bit dodgy, gemstone,” he muttered. 

“It isn’t my timing,” Roger huffed, “it’s your children, that’s what it is!”

They grinned at each other. “I won’t let anything happen to you,” Crystal vowed.

Roger nodded, “I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just when it was all going so smoothly...


	5. Push

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think the chapter title probably gives away what happens next! ;)

Chapter Five - Push 

None of them had been able to remember the spell to hide footprints but Freddie assured them it didn’t matter if they walked backwards. “So that it appears that we were heading away from where we headed to,” he explained, “and ideally if we could carefully place our feet in one set of prints for extra confusion...”

It was not, John grumbled, the quickest way to travel but he had to admit it was the best thing they could do in light of the snow and the footprints. “You want us to go to the lake?” he queried as Freddie added this to his instructions.

Freddie nodded. “I saw it in my vision. Once we are at the lake we can walk in the water so we don’t leave footprints. There is some ice but it will break easily when we put weight on it. Once we reach the side of the lake farthest from the road there are steps down leading to a little tunnel under the lake.”

They were already moving by this time. Brian went first as he had the largest feet so John and Freddie’s boot prints fitted neatly inside his. 

Just as they reached the edge of the water John snorted. “I’ve just remembered how to hide footprints,” he said, muttering the spell.

They stood still for a moment as they each heard the sound of voices. The soldiers were apparently not opting for the element of surprise. “Quickly,” Freddie urged them, setting of rapidly around the lake with his boots breaking the ice at the edge and splashing along in the water. He felt the air shimmer around him and realised someone had cast an invisibility spell which he added to.

He was relieved when, as his vision had shown, he almost fell down the opening to a set of steps leading downwards. The opening was mostly hidden by a little cluster of trees. They all hurried down out of sight of the soldiers. Freddie found it slightly worrying that the soldiers were now out of their sight too. 

“I wonder why there is a tunnel under the lake,” Brian whispered then fell silent as Freddie and John both glared at him. 

They all moved along the tunnel as quietly as possible. Freddie’s vision had not revealed to him where it emerged. It seemed to curve back towards the town. Freddie supposed it might be a route out of someone’s house, like their routes out of castle.

Then, they came to a branching of the tunnel. One passage went on in the direction Freddie thought the town was in and the other seemed to head towards the mountain range that loomed over the lake and the town. John gestured at the tunnel heading for the hills. “This way?” he whispered and Brian and Freddie agreed.

They moved as quickly as they dared in the darkness of the tunnel. The only sounds now were their breathing and the rustle of their clothing and tramping of their boots. 

*

Defensive spells ran through Crystal’s mind as he watched the figure that had emerged from the castle jog down the steps towards them. He stood slightly in front of Roger who had inconveniently gone into labour as they had left the air ship. 

Roger gave a little gasp. “Oh!” Crystal was about to say something reassuring, although he was not sure he had any remarks that were quite up to the task of reassuring someone about to give birth to twins in a snowy courtyard as a potentially dangerous stranger approached, when Roger added, “It’s Miami!”

Bemused, Crystal glanced back at the approaching figure and realised Roger was correct – it was Miami. Relief crashed over him like a wave. He returned to Roger’s side and slid his arm around Roger’s shoulders. “Panic over, then,” he noted, adding, “Can you walk, love?”

Roger grimaced through a contraction and Crystal realised he had not been timing the contractions. “I reckon I can manage a slow waddle,” Roger muttered. “They’re only about three minutes apart, I think,” he added as if he had been reading Crystal’s mind.

Crystal immediately dismissed this as Roger being melodramatic. “They can’t be that close together yet,” he said, hopefully. He looked up as Miami reached them. “Roger’s in labour,” he told Miami, although he figured Miami would have worked that out for himself. 

“So I see,” Miami nodded, moving to the other side of Roger and curving his arm around him. “Let’s get you inside,” he said in a soothing voice. “How close together are your contractions?”

“I think three minutes,” Roger grunted, “but Crystal thinks I’m deluded.”

“I didn’t say that!” Crystal objected. “Just...You’ve only just gone into labour.” He shot a suspicious glance at Roger, “You have just gone into labour, haven’t you?”

“I might have felt something earlier on the ship,” Roger confessed, “but I wasn’t sure. I thought it might have been those...what’s it...Bracken Hiccup contractions.” 

“Braxton Hicks,” Crystal corrected him with a sigh. They paused as Roger halted, bending over slightly. Crystal pulled him a little closer. “You’re all right, darling,” he soothed him.

They had reached the bottom of the steps and began the awkward shuffle upwards. “You’re doing brilliantly,” Miami assured Roger gently as he grumbled about the number of steps. “The Queens often give birth very speedily,” he noted, not entirely helpfully in Crystal’s opinion.

“Almost there,” Crystal announced as they reached the half way point. He felt it was important to be positive.

“Half way there,” Roger corrected him crossly. He sighed. “Better keep moving, I guess.”

It felt like an eternity since they had disembarked from the air ship. Crystal felt another little rush of relief once Roger was inside the castle, looking tiny in the cavernous entrance hall. Roger would at the very least give birth inside rather than in the snow. He soothed Roger through another contraction as Miami took their bags through a door to the right. “Come through here,” he suggested, “by the fire.”

“Miami’s sorted your cosy fire, Roggie,” Crystal murmured, steering Roger towards the door. They found themselves in a sitting room. As Miami had promised there was a blazing fire. Miami had evidently been sitting in the armchair near the fire reading a book. He was now making a nest for Roger with cushions from the sofa which he was spreading what appeared to be a dust sheet over.

“I’ll go and get some towels and hot water,” Miami told Crystal. “You get Roger comfy.”

“This is the least comfy thing I can imagine,” Roger wailed to Crystal. 

“I know, love,” Crystal told him, “but you might feel a bit better once we get your coat off and find you some dry clothes.”

Roger pressed his face to Crystal’s shoulder and Crystal gently stroked his hair. “I should be at home in our bed,” Roger whimpered.

“I know, love, but I’m here,” Crystal felt helpless, “and I’ll look after you.” 

*

The tunnel began to slope upwards because of course it did, Freddie thought slightly irritably, of course it would be a tiring route. Still, everything was very quiet which hopefully meant their pursuers had not discovered the tunnel yet. Hopefully they would never find them but Freddie suspected they would eventually be informed about this potential way of escape by one of the villagers. And perhaps the broken ice at the edge of the lake would give them away. It might have been wiser to simply carry out the footprint erasing spell again once John had recalled it.

Freddie sighed. It was too late to worry about that now. He had to focus on moving as quickly as possible on an unknown path in almost total darkness.

*

Phoebe had been dragged from his cell by a couple of armed guards. In the corridors the protections in place to prevent the performance of any magic felt much more oppressive than they had done in the cell.

He stumbled along between the men who were moving at a fast pace. They hauled Phoebe down some stairs and along another corridor towards a door which was swung open by some unseen hand.

Phoebe was flung forwards staggering on the uneven flagstones before he righted himself and halted just in front of a large desk. There was no chair on his side of the desk. A glance backwards informed him the two guards who had escorted him there had taken up positions in front of the door presumably to prevent him escaping. There was a large man in a military uniform sitting behind the desk blocking out the heat from the fire crackling merrily in the fireplace behind him. Still, the room was warmer than Phoebe’s cell. 

“Where are they?” the man behind the desk barked.

“Where are who?” Phoebe countered.

The man glared at him. “Where are the Queens?” he snapped. 

“I don’t know,” Phoebe replied truthfully, wishing he did. “The last time I saw them was at dinner. As far as I am aware they all went to their respective rooms after that.”

“You had a bag with you when you were arrested,” the man noted, apparently satisfied that Phoebe could not assist him with the whereabouts of the Queens.

“My colleague and I were about to embark on a supply trip,” Phoebe lied. Some of the castle staff did occasionally spend time away from the castle obtaining supplies but never the assistants and never at night. Would this man know that, though? Would he know Phoebe’s position at the castle? 

“That seems an unlikely task for two assistants,” the man snarled. Damn, so he did know that.

“Usually it would be,” Phoebe agreed, “but Roger, the Red Queen, has had certain cravings. We were hoping to obtain supplies to satisfy those as stocks were running low, particularly of pickled beetroot. He liked that with chocolate ice-cream,” he told the man. This was also perfectly true. He thought he could detect some uncertainty in the man’s face.

“And two of you needed to do this?” the man asked suspiciously. 

“Well, no,” Phoebe said, “but rules dictate that we cannot be out of the castle alone and must be accompanied by someone of similar or higher rank.” This was actually true and he could tell that his interrogator knew that too. 

“Where would they be likely to go?” the man wondered, but the fight had gone out of him a bit. 

Phoebe wasn’t entirely sure if an answer was expected from him or not but he gave one anyway. “They’ve never been off the island in their lives,” he lied, “so they wouldn’t know of anywhere to go.” This was also true, to a certain extent and Phoebe was concerned about how the Queens would be faring in the real world. He was particularly worried about Roger. He hoped the Queens were together and that Crystal was with them and hopefully Miami too. But the visions had made that outcome seem unlikely. 

“Your story matches that of your companion,” the man told him gruffly. “You will be detained here until the Queens have been located and we can be certain that you did not help them escape in any way.”

As Phoebe was dragged back to his cell he reflected happily that at least he knew all of the Queens were free - for the moment, at least.

*

Roger was on all fours on the bank of cushions in front of the fire, panting. “I can’t do this!” he wailed sounding slightly panicky. 

“You’re doing brilliantly,” Crystal assured him, gently rubbing his back. It was all happening much too fast for his liking. He cast his mind back to his Healing training when he had attended a couple of births but there had been a lot of boring waiting about at those. He had noted from the pregnancy records that the Queens all seemed to give birth very quickly but it had not really registered with him that Roger would also shoot out the babies before Crystal had time to get his head around the whole thing. “You’re a total natural at this, little gem, you’ve totally got this.”

“Liar,” Roger grumbled, gasping.

“Breathe, love,” Crystal instructed him, earning himself a glare.

“I am never letting you touch me again,” Roger muttered through gritted teeth.

“I will never offer you another massage again, then,” Crystal assured him. This earned him another glare.

“Is there any sign of your children yet?” Roger gasped.

*

They could hear voices. The voices were distant and Freddie certainly hoped sound really echoed down here but still...There were other people in the tunnels.

Without speaking they picked up the pace. The tunnel had narrowed, forcing them to walk in single file and it was sloping very steeply now. Freddie pushed away the very unwelcome thought that it might be a dead-end. He heard John, who was in front of him stifle a curse as his boot hit something with a thump. John had halted and Freddie bumped into him causing Brian to bump into Freddie. “Steps,” John explained in a barely audible whisper.

They moved up the steps cautiously, feeling their way with their feet in the darkness. The voices behind them made Freddie want to hurry but he knew that would not be sensible.

He became gradually aware that he could see John as a blurry outline. Then he became less blurred. The tunnel was getting lighter. John, now able to see the steps ahead of him was moving more rapidly now and Freddie picked up his pace too.

They emerged from the tunnel next to a large boulder. The snow was dazzling. John was peering cautiously around the boulder. Then he suddenly laughed, sounding surprisingly joyful. “Gerry!” he exclaimed.

Gerry was one of the kitchen staff at the castle. They all hurried out of the tunnel and found that Gerry was, indeed, leaning against a tree a short distance away. 

“Your majesties,” Gerry gave them a little bow. He glanced anxiously towards the tunnel. “Are you being pursued?”

“Probably,” John confirmed grimly.

“Come with me, then,” Gerry urged them. 

John carried out the footstep erasing spell and Freddie concentrated on a concealment spell, just in case. Brian boosted both pieces of magic.

The snow was almost knee deep here and Freddie found it hard going as they panted after Gerry. They seemed to be high up – on a wide ledge, Freddie thought – and Gerry seemed to be heading straight towards the rock rearing up in front of them. Then Gerry seemed to simply vanish, as if he had merged with the rock face itself.

*

“Push, Rog!” Crystal urged him.

“I am fucking pushing,” Roger protested.

“I can see the head,” Crystal told him excitedly. “Keep going, love.”

Roger grumbled something along the lines of not having much choice. It occurred to him that this was probably marginally less terrifying than giving birth at the Colour Castle with pieces of the furniture giving him in all probability conflicting advice. 

“You’re doing really well,” Crystal assured him.

“Really well,” Miami agreed. He had given them some space but had now reappeared, “I thought maybe you could use another pair of hands?”

“Ooooh,” Roger groaned.

“That’s it, love, nearly there,” Crystal told him. 

“Nearly there for one of them,” Roger muttered. Miami sponged his sweaty face and he gasped his thanks.

“Big push, Roggie,” Crystal called. A few seconds later, his voice quivering with emotion, he said, “It’s a girl!”

“Hey, baby,” Roger whispered, “welcome.”

As Miami was warning them that there was a chance with a twin birth that Roger would cease to have contractions at this point Roger was gripped by another contraction. “Ooh, no such luck,” he moaned. 

*

John followed Gerry into the side of the mountain. As Freddie approached the site of their disappearance, he realised that there was a small opening in the rock face – un-noticeable unless you knew where to look. He followed the others into the little opening.

It was a little passageway he realised, leading through the mountain. The snow had not managed to accumulate here due to the way the rock curved overhead so it was much easier to hurry along after Gerry. After Brian had followed him on to this path Freddie turned and cast a spell that should make everyone’s eyes slide over the opening without seeing it. It might not be necessary – the opening was not easy to spot anyway – but better safe than sorry. If the colour army were pursuing them Freddie was not sure his spell would hold them back for long but every little delay counted.

*

Roger’s breath was coming in little gasps. “You’re doing great,” Crystal told him. Roger could only whimper in response. “Not long now,” Crystal assured him. 

Roger cried out as he pushed. “It’s another girl!” Crystal announced.

“Congratulations,” Miami beamed. 

“Welcome, baby,” Roger gulped. 

*

A second narrow rocky path branched off from the path they were on. Gerry led them down this route too. Freddie cast another spell to hopefully hide the opening. They had not heard anyone behind them but he felt certain it was only a matter of time.

Steps carved into the rock led steeply downwards and Freddie was glad he was able to place his hands on the rock on each side as they hurried down. As they descended they emerged from under cover of the rock and the steps had a covering of icy snow which slowed their progress. But he could see where they were heading now – smoke was rising from the chimneys of a small settlement below. 

“It’s called Eagle’s Rest,” Gerry called back to them. “The tunnel from the castle comes out near here and a lot of the staff grew up here.”

*

Roger lay back on a bank of snow-white pillows, his hair falling in soft waves around his face, still slightly damp from the bath. He was nursing one of the babies, cradling her in his arm as she sucked at his breast.

Crystal did not think he had ever seen anything so beautiful. “You’re gorgeous,” he blurted out. 

Roger looked up. “Me or her?” he asked, with a smile. 

“Both of you,” Crystal said in a slightly choked voice. 

He had secretly been a little disappointed when Roger’s breasts had only swollen a little during his pregnancy. He had also wondered about how efficient they would be for feeding a baby. A lot of men had to express their milk. Roger did not seem to be having any trouble feeding the twins, however.

Crystal had also been surprised to discover that the babies mostly politely took turns to feed. The first-born girl usually fed first then the other girl. If he had considered feeding twins at all – and he now didn’t think he had really considered anything beyond the birth nearly enough – he had thought one would hang from each of Roger’s breasts feeding at the same time. “That’d give me more time to sleep,” Roger had noted when he had remarked on this, “which is probably why the little bastards don’t do it.”

Crystal sat on the edge of the bed and pressed a kiss to Roger’s forehead. “Have you given any further thought to names?” he asked. 

The first-born girl was called Amber. That had been easy, especially when shortly after her birth she had been surrounded by an amber glow that indicated this as her magical colour.

The other baby’s colour was purple. Roger shook his head. “It seems such a big responsibility – naming someone,” he murmured. 

“Yeah,” Crystal agreed, “but she can’t be ‘hey you’ all her life.”

Roger grinned. “Have you thought of any names?”

Crystal’s fingers plucked the edge of the sheet and he glanced away from Roger and the baby. “I did wonder about maybe calling her Violet, since we’ve called Amber after her colour.”

“Violet,” Roger repeated thoughtfully. “Are you a Violet, little one?” The baby waved her fist. “I think she likes it,” Roger told Crystal. “Hey, little Violet, are you finished your feed, baby girl?”

Crystal leaned over and kissed Roger. “We have successfully parented,” he said. 

Roger laughed. “I think naming them is a basic requirement,” he told Crystal fondly, “as is feeding them.”

“We’re doing amazingly, then, aren’t we?” Crystal told him, “Excellently meeting those basic needs.”

*

Freddie was not sure where he was at first when he awakened. Then he remembered hurrying through the tunnel and down the steps to the little village of Eagle’s Rest. Gerry had led them to a house that looked as if it had been badly damaged by fire, the remains boarded up. This turned out to be an illusion and they had been able to have hot baths and fall asleep in comfortable beds. 

Freddie rolled over wondering what time it was. It seemed to be dark outside but the hours of daylight were few at this time of year. 

He could hear voices. Had the army arrived in the village? Were they being hunted? 

He heard a gentle knock on the door. “Come in,” he called softly. 

Both Brian and John entered, carrying mugs of tea and plates of toast. They ate and drank sitting on Freddie’s bed. “The army have come through the tunnel,” John confirmed. “Gerry would like us to get ready in case we need to leave in a hurry. He doesn’t think it will be necessary but better safe than sorry.”

Freddie nodded, suppressing a groan at the thought of having to do any further hasty fleeing through the snowy landscape. He supposed he should be grateful they’d been able to rest for a bit. “Is it the colour army?” he asked. They were more dangerous.

“There only seem to be a few colour soldiers,” John said.

Freddie felt the colour army was more of a danger to them so that was a relief. However, even one magician might see through the boarded up house illusion so it made sense to get ready to move.

“There’s an escape tunnel away from this house,” Brian informed Freddie who tried not to sigh at the prospect of yet another tunnel. 

*

Amber and Violet seemed to sleep a lot. Roger watched them sleep a lot – anxiously checking they were definitely breathing. Crystal would wind his arms around him and try to persuade him to go to bed. “They’re healthy. They’re fine, gem.”

Miami had found little baby baskets for them to sleep in and a supply of cute little baby outfits. Roger had not questioned this at first – he’d been exhausted and preoccupied with the babies – but on the first day that he felt up to joining Miami and Crystal for dinner downstairs he asked the obvious question, “How did you end up here, Miami?”

*

Miami had followed the tunnel from the room of mystery. The tunnel had not seemed very long to him. “I assume there is magic involved,” he noted drily, “and I emerged from the tunnel in the room of mystery here.”

“Ooh, there’s a room of mystery here?” Roger’s eyes lit up. “Is it just like ours?”

“Pretty similar,” Miami nodded. He explained that he had explored the castle and had found it deserted. The furniture had been covered in dust sheets but he had found food supplies including fresh milk and butter in the kitchen and supplies of firewood and logs. The following morning a woman had arrived at the door, smiling and saying they had been expecting him. 

“A woman?” Roger echoed.

“Her name is Serena,” Miami said, “and she lives in the village at the foot of the hill the castle sits on.”

Miami explained that when the original ruling Queens had been defeated and cursed the generations of former Queens who had been living in the Colour Castle had been slaughtered. “The new King and his army knew this castle existed – Castle Indigo - it sits on Indigo rock – but they had been told the castle had been in ruins for centuries. The Queens liked it that way. In fact, many of the former Queens retired here.”

“Were there Queens living here when the military takeover happened then?” Crystal asked. 

Miami shook his head. “Not exactly, no. All of the former Queens who had come here had died by that point. However, it turns out that the spare Queens came here too.”

“The spare Queens?” Roger asked, entranced. 

“Eat your food, Roggie,” Crystal urged him, “You need to keep your strength up,” he added. 

Roger made a face at him but obediently ate some of his meal. His eyes were fixed on Miami though.

“When the Queens ruled they could have children with any partners they liked and they didn’t have four children then stop,” Miami explained. “They seem to have decided which children would form a set and those who were not going to be part of the next set either remained at the Colour Castle but not as Queens or came here. They were referred to as the spare Queens or the mismatched sets. The villagers here now are their descendants. The stories have been passed down through the years and it’s all a bit hazy now but I get the impression that the colour mix in any set was chosen carefully and the children who came here didn’t fit in those sets.”

“Did they have visions?” Roger asked. “Do they have visions now – are the villagers also effectively Queens?” he wondered excitedly.

“They have magic,” Miami said, “a lot of it and they know how to use it but no, they do not have visions now. Apparently the first people to live here did have visions too.”

Roger’s face fell. “And...They didn’t try to help the cursed Queens?” he gulped.

“They did, apparently,” Miami told him, “but something went horribly wrong with the spell they were carrying out and one of the spell casters died. The others seem to have been weakened. It might have been caused by something in the main curse as that seemed designed to attach to bloodlines. Some of the descendants say that is also when they lost the power to have visions but others say that stopped gradually over time. Anyway, they decided the best thing to do would be to stay hidden and see if they could be of assistance at a later date.”

Roger looked unimpressed. “They’ve waited a hell of a long time,” he grumbled. 

“I’ve been looking in the library here,” Miami told him, “and I think they may have been responsible for a lot of the protective magic we benefitted from at the Colour Castle so perhaps we shouldn’t judge them too harshly. And don’t forget – they lost their close relatives in the takeover. I think we must consider that they desperately wanted to help but proved unable to.”

Roger nodded. “I suppose it’s just as well for us that they kept this place quiet,” he noted. 

“Why don’t they live here?” Crystal wondered. 

“They have much cosier homes in the town,” Miami grinned, “and they are not all cooped up together.”

“If they don’t have visions how did they know you’d be coming?” Roger asked. 

“One of the older women can apparently read tea-leaves and that is what they showed her,” Miami explained. “They don’t have visions as you do but a few of the villagers are skilled in those kinds of predictive arts.”

Roger nodded. “I see.” He looked like he was going to say something else but then one of the orbs floating over the table – one amber and one purple – flashed and he jumped up and hurried out of the room to go to the twins. 

Crystal followed. It was Amber who had caused the alert. He could hear her crying as he approached the room and heard Roger speaking soothingly to her. The crying ceased. He entered and saw Roger holding her and clumsily trying to unbutton his top with one hand so he could feed her. He unbuttoned Roger’s top for him. “They’re so small yet they seem to need fed constantly,” he marvelled. 

Tell me about it,” Roger sighed, settling down on the bed to feed Amber.

*

The soldiers had missed the turn that led to the village. “They’ll almost certainly carry on until they reach Eagle’s Rock village,” Gerry told them, grinning. “We do still think you should leave here as soon as possible, though.”

To the astonishment of all the Queens Gerry told them that there was a network of caves nearby that contained magical routes to, in his words, “all the Queen’s castles.” 

“Magical routes?” Brian echoed, adding, “All the castles? There are other castles?”

“The distance you have to travel is drastically shortened,” Gerry explained. “The exception is the route to the Colour Castle which is quite long.”

“My escape route,” John realised. “That’s where you emerged from the tunnel that leads to my tower?” he asked.

Gerry nodded. “That’s right. Anyone magical in any of the nearby villages in these hills knows the Colour caves exist. We’ve never tried any of the routes, though. They are for the Queens only. So we didn’t realise one led to the Colour Castle. We have been told of routes leading to Castle Indigo, Castle Crimson, Castle Bloodstone and Castle Charmstone.”

“Do you know which route leads to which castle?” John asked. They had all exchanged meaningful looks when Castle Charmstone was mentioned. 

“I had no idea we had other castles apart from the ruined one in the north,” Brian murmured. 

“That’s Castle Indigo,” Freddie told him, “and I’m not sure it is actually ruined.” 

“To answer your question,” Gerry said, “no, we have no idea which route leads to which castle. Well, apart from the Colour Castle since we emerged from that one.” 

*

Roger waited patiently as Crystal fussed over the fastenings of the baby-sling. He was carrying Violet and Crystal had Amber strapped to his front. Miami had found the baby-carriers alongside the baby clothes stored in part of the castle that appeared to have been a nursery at one point. Roger had been keen to use the baby-slings to allow them to explore the castle.

Roger also wanted to see how it felt to carry the babies like this. He had a feeling that they would need to become accustomed to moving with the girls attached to them. From previous visions he suspected they did not continue to stay at the castle for much longer.

Miami had been receiving updates from the villagers about the unrest in the Kingdom. Godfrey was ruthlessly crushing any signs of rebellion, often using colour troops which he had now declared lawful again. “They say Godfrey has killed any potential rivals for the throne,” Miami said, “but, most unexpectedly, I must say, The Association who arrange for the Colour Masters and Assistants to arrive at the Colour Castle have started agitating against Godfrey. They are spreading awareness that the throne was stolen from the Queens. They seem to be headed by a man called Jim Hutton. And as the former Colour Masters and many of the former assistants are gifted magically they are putting up an effective resistance to Godfrey’s colour army. They are outnumbered though.”

Crystal frowned. “I’m not even sure if that’s a good or bad thing,” he muttered. “Not the resistance,” he clarified seeing how puzzled Miami looked, “the resistance is excellent news. But I’m not sure I want my daughters to rule the Kingdom.”

“I don’t want to rule,” Roger grumbled. “John or Brian will have to do it.”

“What about Freddie?” Miami asked, looking amused. 

“Oh, he won’t want to either,” Roger stated confidently. He frowned, “I’m not sure John and Brian will want to. I don’t think any of us really want to.”

“I find it hard to believe The Association intends for that to happen,” Miami told him. “I suspect someone there wants power for themselves.”

“Perhaps,” Crystal agreed, “but everyone who wants power is also going to want to control the Queens.”

“Well they can all fuck off,” Roger muttered, “I have no intention of being cursed again if I can possibly avoid it.” His face brightened. “You could rule, Miami, if you wanted to. You’d be an excellent ruler!”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Rog, but I’m not sure I want to rule the Kingdom either,” Miami sighed. 

Roger thought of this now as he entered the library with Crystal. The only people who wanted to rule seemed to be exactly the sort of people who should not be allowed to rule. 

He thought the library was even larger than the library at the Colour Castle. “Wow,” he murmured. He cupped Violet’s small head with his hand. She was snug and sleeping in the baby sling. 

“This is huge,” Crystal said. Amber was also asleep, nestled against him. “Do you think we’ll be guided to anything helpful?”

Roger nodded. “I’m pretty sure that’s how the magic works. Shall we split up?”

“Okay,” Crystal agreed, “I’ll wander this way and you wander that way?” he suggested, waving his hands in opposite directions.

Roger nodded. “I’ll meet you back here once I have a book,” he said, already heading towards the towering bookcases.

*

Gerry led them out of Eagle’s Rest along a narrow path that wound around the hillside until they reached a jutting rock formation with rock striped with different colours. Gerry ducked down and squeezed through a low opening and they followed him. 

Freddie was glad to discover that once he was through the opening the space opened up into a large cave which even Brian could easily stand up in. The stone was still striped. Different openings led away from the main cave. 

Gerry indicated an opening the stripes in the rock seemed to arch over like a rainbow. “That one leads to the Colour Castle.”

John considered this. He indicated an opening which had an arch of particularly red-coloured strips curving over it. “Do we think this one leads to the Crimson Castle, wherever that is?”

“That would make sense,” Brian nodded. He pointed to deep blue-purple stripes over another dark opening. “This one could be Castle Indigo.”

Freddie nodded his agreement. He looked at the three remaining openings. “Castle Bloodstone may also have a reddish indicator,” he noted. One of the other three openings also had reddish stripes arching over it. “We appear to have one more route than we have castles,” he noted.

The rock above one of the remaining two openings seemed to glitter. “Does the sparkle indicate Charmstone?” Freddie wondered. “Or,” he said as he examined the other opening, “is it the rock with the flecks of gold?”

“I suppose we could try both,” Brian ventured. 

“We could,” John agreed, “but let’s try the glittery one first. I’m fairly sure I’ve read something somewhere – poetry perhaps – about charmstone glistening in sunlight.”

They thanked Gerry for his help. Once he had left, Freddie said, “If Roger or Crystal or Miami left our castle using Miami’s escape route then it will have taken them to Castle Indigo,” he informed them.

“We don’t know if any of them used that route, though,” Brian pointed out. “And if they did then we have no way of knowing if they are still there.”

“From the visions we do know most people end up at Charmwood or Charmstone,” John noted. 

Freddie sighed. “I know,” he acknowledged, “but something is telling me that we should go to Castle Indigo.”

*

Roger spied a little flash of light from the corner of his eye and followed that. Violet made a little gurgling noise. “Do you think we should go this way, darling?” Roger murmured. She gurgled again in response. “I’ll take that as a yes, Miss Gorgeousness.”

He wandered in the direction he thought he had glimpsed the light from. As in the library at home he saw a shimmer of light at the bottom of a shelf and crouched carefully, trying not to disturb or dislodge Violet to obtain the book being revealed to him.

*

“Where should we look, my little Amber warning?” Crystal murmured to the baby. She was fast asleep and did not reply. 

He walked along the shelves, glancing at the books. The rich purple spine of a book caught his eye – Violet’s colour. He plucked the book from the shelf and realised that on the row above it there was an amber-hued book which he also selected. “A sign,” he told Amber, who slumbered on, uncaring.

*

Miami was at the reading desk when they returned with their finds. He looked up from the book he was reading and smiled. “What have you got there?”

They had both arrived back at around the same time which Crystal thought was a sort of magic in itself. He brandished the purple book. “This one is about focussing visions,” he told them, “and this,” he waved around the amber book, “is about magical military techniques.”

Roger frowned. “I suppose it would be unrealistic to think we won’t need that one,” he sighed. He flapped a pamphlet he was carrying, “I found this – it’s a guide to what it refers to as the Queen routes which seem to be some sort of magical shortcuts between different places that were important to the former Queens. I think the route you used to get here is one of them, Miami.”

“Ooh, that could be useful,” Miami said, taking the pamphlet from Roger and flipping through it.

“And this,” Roger continued, hefting a large book in his hand, “is a history of the castle.”

“That sounds less useful,” Crystal noted.

“I was drawn to it,” Roger told him, “so there must be something we need to know in it, I think. I’m pretty sure that’s how it works.”

*

Freddie had been out-voted so they stepped into the opening with the stripes of glittering rock arching over it. The air seemed thick with magic. It was old magic, Freddie thought with a little shiver. 

They picked their way forward in darkness for a short while then saw a glimmer of light. As they walked towards the light they discovered it was filtering in around a door-frame. “Well, if we are here then that really was a short trip,” Brian murmured.

The door opened inwards. They pulled it slightly open and peered around it into an empty room. They hesitated, listening carefully but could hear nothing. Satisfied that there didn’t seem to be anyone nearby they finally stepped into the room. 

Freddie shivered. It was cold. The room was completely bare. It had a stone floor and stone walls. A couple of narrow windows high up in the walls allowed some light in. There were some dusty empty shelves along one wall which suggested this might have been a store room once. 

The cautiously ventured up some steps in the corner of the room and found themselves in a large kitchen that reminded Freddie of the kitchen in their own castle. There was no sign of anyone. 

They stayed together as they explored. The castle had evidently been abandoned. There were scorch marks on the walls of the great hall and a couple of nearby reception rooms had charred wall-hangings and furnishings. The castle was deserted.

“Well, this certainly seems to be the place we saw in our visions,” Freddie remarked, setting his pack down in the entrance hall. “Do we think it is safe to stay here?”

“Let’s place a couple of protective spells on it,” John suggested, “That should make it safe to stay here for one night at least. I’d like a look at the library and I think I saw a door that looks very like the door to our room of mystery. I’d like to have a look at that too.”

*

The room of mystery had provided two little cots for the babies to sleep in. Miami, Roger and Crystal sat in a circle on cushions. “Um...So the book suggests we can ask questions,” Crystal informed them, feeling a little self-conscious. “Like, I suppose, when we will be re-united with the others or...well, I’m not completely sure how specific we have to be...”

“Why don’t we start by asking when we will be re-united with the other Queens and the assistants?” Miami suggested, “And see how that goes.”

They asked in solemn unison and Crystal felt slightly ridiculous. He looked up at the ceiling where the amber and purple of the babies had joined the swirl of red, green and gold from the adults present. It was the amber strand that swooped down and formed a screen for him. 

He saw Roger hugging Freddie, John and Brian. He saw Miami – his face bruised – sitting with John in the wood cabin they had seen before in their visions. 

The ‘screen’ went blank for a moment and then he was standing on some high ground looking at a large army – a colour army. Roger was on one side of him and Phoebe on the other. There were other people there too but he was not sure who. He was certain that there were far fewer people with him than there were in the colour army.

*

They sat around the kitchen table drinking tea and eating a vegetable stew Brian had prepared using the supplies they had found. John was engrossed in a pamphlet he had discovered in the library. “It was on the floor as I entered,” he had explained, “and it shows the magical and common or garden escape routes to and from each castle.”

John looked up at them now, his eyes shining. “Look at this,” he said, placing the pamphlet in the centre of the table.

They all leaned forward and peered at it. There was a route leading from a castle to a little house drawn in a forest. “I think that must be the cabin in the woods,” John told them, “It looks as if there is a tunnel from here to the cabin.”

“Very handy,” Brian approved.

“Another bloody tunnel,” Freddie sighed. 

*

Everyone looked expectantly at Roger. “Miami first, then Crystal then me,” he told them. 

Miami cleared his throat, “I...uh...saw rather than heard today which was very unusual. I’m afraid I was so startled I didn’t really take in the start of my vision but I saw the four Queens back home in Freddie’s rooms. Roger was holding one baby and John was holding the other. Then I was back to hearing things. I heard you, Crystal, saying, “There’s fucking loads of them.” Then Roger said, in a dreamy kind of way, “But we can defeat them. It is time to begin.” Then I could hear chanting but I couldn’t make out the words. It did sound like a spell though.”

“I think what you heard was related to one of my visions,” Crystal said. He told them what he had seen. 

“We face a colour army?” Roger gulped. “Did you see the girls?” He glanced towards the cots where the twins were sleeping peacefully.

Crystal frowned. “I think we were wearing the baby-carriers,” he said. 

“I’m pretty sure taking your newborns to face an army isn’t in the good parenting handbook,” Roger muttered. 

Crystal shrugged. “If the library directs us to a book that will tell us how to parent them then I’ll have a look at it but until then I think we should just make it up as we go along,” he told Roger. 

Roger grinned. “Already doing that,” he laughed. 

“So, what did you see?” Crystal asked, sliding his arm around Roger’s waist.

“I saw myself, John, Brian and Freddie facing Godfrey in the middle of a field. He was shouting but he had been bound with dark yellow rope so I assume that is the opposite of his magical colour,” Roger told them. 

“That’s encouraging,” Miami nodded. 

“Then I saw us – all of us – back home having dinner in the hall as usual. The baby alert orbs were floating over the table. The next thing I saw was a group of people sitting in the yellow and pink reception room. We were all there but I didn’t recognise any of the other people. Crystal and I were each holding one of the twins.” Roger smiled at them. “That’s it.”

“That all sounds quite positive,” Miami noted. 

“Do you think there is something about how a handful of magicians can defeat a colour army in that book you found, Crys?” Roger wondered. 

“I bloody hope so,” Crystal muttered. 

*

They slept huddled together in a large bed in one of the bedrooms. Freddie found it hard to get to sleep despite how tired he was. They had lit a fire and Freddie lay on his side watching the flames flickering. As he lay there images started to form in front of his eyes. He sighed resigning himself to having another unexpected vision. 

*

“I had another vision last night, just before I fell asleep,” Freddie told the others as they huddled by the fire eating toast and drinking tea.

“What did you see?” Brian asked. 

“I saw what appeared to be a courtroom,” Freddie said, “and Godfrey appeared to be on trial. Miami was in the audience. I’m not sure if audience is the right word but he was there watching, anyway. He was the only person in the room I recognised.”

“I wholeheartedly approve of Godfrey on trial,” John told him.

“He was bound with dark yellow rope,” Freddie said, “so that must be the opposite of his magical colour.”

“That’s useful,” Brian nodded. “Shall we have a look in the library and then look at the room of mystery?”

“Yes,” John agreed, “and then we can see if we can find the cabin in the woods, perhaps.”

*

The spell to make their bags hold more but feel lighter was surprisingly complicated. Crystal heaved a sigh of relief as he finally completed this task. Roger kissed the top of his head. He was sitting on the floor near the backpacks. Roger scooped a grizzling baby – Amber – into his arms. “Your clever Daddy has made room in our bags for the incredible amount of stuff you and your sister need us to cart about,” Roger cooed to Amber. “Isn’t your Daddy clever?”

Amber seemed unimpressed, apparently more interested in being fed than in Crystal’s amazing feat of magic. Crystal scrambled up off the floor. “They’re too little to be traipsing round the countryside defeating colour armies,” he muttered. 

“They’re too little to be left alone to fend for themselves too,” Roger pointed out. 

Crystal smiled, “That’s true but what if we left them here with Miami?” Even as he said it he was aware of the main drawback to that plan – Roger was feeding the babies.

“Milk,” Roger said simply. “Also, Miami is a strong magician. I think we will need him to defeat the army.”

“You could express milk,” Crystal suggested but he knew it wasn’t practical, not really. 

“We don’t know how long we would be away for,” Roger pointed out. “I don’t want to have to take them into a potentially dangerous situation either, love, but I don’t think we have much choice. Anyone I’d be happy to leave them with is going to be fighting with us.” 

Crystal sighed. “I know you’re right but I wish there was another way.”

*

They knew it was time for action the following morning when one of the villagers arrived at the castle early in the morning and announced that King Godfrey had sentenced the assistants apprehended from the Colour Castle to death for aiding and abetting the treacherous Queens who had used magic to murder the former King.

The executions were to take place at Charmwell prison in seven days time.

“We’ll see about that,” Crystal muttered grimly. He glanced at Miami and Roger. “It looks like we’d better start packing.”


	6. Please Don't Say You've Lost It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some violence and injury in this chapter. Nothing really graphic.

Chapter Six - Please Don’t Say You’ve Lost It

A group of the villagers had offered to accompany them. Their best magicians had volunteered. Roger smiled at them feeling unusually shy. These people were almost certainly relations of his albeit distant ones and he felt a little awkward that his preoccupation with the twins meant he hadn’t really met any of them. He stood slightly to the side as Miami and Crystal impressed upon them that they might face dangers. “This is a trap,” Crystal noted, “designed to flush out the Queens.”

There was a murmur of agreement. “The sensible thing to do would be to let the assistants die,” one of the villagers noted.

“You don’t have to come,” Roger said sharply, “but we are going and no one is going to die if I can help it.”

Crystal and Miami both gave him looks that told him that probably hadn’t been very helpful. The villager who had spoken laughed, however, and said, “Yeah, we don’t do the sensible thing either, lad!”

The magical routes to and from Castle Indigo were mostly situated in the room of mystery but the route to Castle Charmstone was located at the foot of one of the towers, under the stairs. Miami went first, with the ten village magicians following him and Roger and Crystal at the rear with Violet strapped to Roger’s chest and Amber strapped to Crystal’s. 

Roger was surprised by how little time it took before they emerged into a little cupboard with brooms and mops and buckets in it that turned out to be near the kitchen. A quick search of the castle revealed that it was deserted but protective spells had been cast over it and Roger recognised the magic. “The others have been here,” he told Miami and Crystal, “and I think they have been here recently.”

*

“Someone’s in the castle,” John said, looking up from the book he was examining. They were sitting around the table in the log cabin they had arrived at when they followed a tunnel from the castle. They had emerged from an opening concealed by a group of large boulders a little away from the cabin itself. 

John had cast a spell to alert him if anyone entered the castle in his absence. “What should we do?” Freddie wondered, “Do we sneak back and spy on them or stay here? Does your spell tell you if they leave again?”

“No,” John said, “I wish I’d thought of that.”

“Does your spell tell you how many people?” Brian asked, “If it’s one person I’d say we spy on them but if it’s an army I think we are safer here.”

“I can’t tell exactly,” John said, “but I think it is between five and fifteen.” 

“Perhaps one of us should go and have a look?” Freddie suggested. 

*

Roger twirled around in the entrance hall. “Oh,” he said, “this looks...I think this is...I’m pretty sure...” He searched through the pockets of the coat he was wearing and brandished a piece of paper at Crystal. “The map,” he explained, “I’m pretty sure it is of this castle.”

Crystal took it from him and examined it. “I think you’re right, little gem. Shall we see if we can find the treasure?” He looked around. The magicians from the village were setting up camp in the great hall and organising further protective spells and a rota for keeping watch. Miami was assisting with this activity. Crystal went over to him and explained what they were going to do.

Miami nodded. “Once we’ve got things set up here I’ll have a search and see if I can find anything suitable for the girls to sleep in.” He ran an affectionate hand over Amber’s fuzz of hair. She was fast asleep, nestled against Crystal.

“We can always pull out a couple of drawers from a chest of drawers and use them,” Roger said cheerfully. 

Miami frowned. “I’ll see if I can find something more comfortable for them,” he promised. 

“Drawers,” Crystal snorted as they headed off trying to find the ‘x’ marked on the map.

“Well, they’re only little. They would fit. And we could line them with towels and so on and make a nice cosy little bed for each of them,” Roger told him. “I mean, if there’s a stash of baby supplies here as there was in the other castle then that would be brilliant but we can make do, can’t we my darlings?” He gently patted Violet’s back and reached over to touch Amber.

Roger could be surprisingly practical. Crystal had no intention of telling him he thought that. “Let’s see if we can find whatever the map leads to before one of these little madams wants fed or changed.”

*

John decided to return to the castle on the grounds that he had the best grasp of the layout. “Stay safe,” Freddie urged him as he left the cabin.

“I promise I won’t do anything rash,” John assured him. 

The tunnel from the cabin to the castle was not magical and it took a while to walk along. Just before John reached the end of it he cast an invisibility spell. He stood listening for a moment before he slipped into the castle.

He could hear voices. Most of the activity seemed to be centred on the great hall. He crept cautiously in that direction, halting and pressing his back to the wall as he heard footsteps approaching. To his astonishment Miami and a man he had never seen before appeared, carrying a large old-fashioned wooden cradle beneath them. John made himself visible. “Miami!” he cried.

*

Roger and Crystal stood in the corridor and looked around in confusion. “According to the map the room with the ‘x’ in it should be here,” Crystal frowned. “I’m sure I’ve read the map correctly,” he added rather defensively. 

“Maybe there’s a hidden entrance,” Roger suggested, “Like the escape tunnels.” He began to run his hands along the wall. “I think I can feel a draught coming from somewhere...”

The wall was constructed from large blocks of stone and Crystal thought a hidden door seemed unlikely but he also began to run his hands over the stones, paying particular attention to the spaces between them, feeling slightly idiotic. Amber stirred against him and made a little gurgling sound. “Daddy’s just trying to find a way through a wall, sweetheart,” he murmured.

“Oh!” Roger exclaimed next to him. He was crouching down cupping Violet’s head with one hand and grasping between stones with the other. “There’s some sort of catch here, at the bottom of the wall...”

Crystal heard a loud click and to his astonishment two of the large stones in the wall swung inward creating an opening. Roger coughed, pulling his coat around Violet as dust swirled around them. He peered up at Crystal. “I think we’ll have to crawl through,” he said, casting a doubtful look at the babies.

In the end Roger sat in the corridor with Violet and Amber on his lap while Crystal crawled through the hole in the wall. “What can you see?” he called.

“An empty room,” Crystal called. “Oh, hang about, there’s something here...”

“What is it?” Roger asked. The babies were wriggling on his lap. “Stay asleep for a little bit longer my darlings,” he encouraged them. 

“It’s a box,” Crystal called. “I’ll bring it out...Or...No...Apparently it won’t budge.”

“Can you open it?” Roger wondered.

“Yes...Oh, there’s a crystal ball inside,” Crystal informed him, “And some other smaller boxes.”

“Ooh,” Roger hugged the twins to him. “Can you see anything?”

“I can only see my reflection. Maybe you should have a bash at it,” Crystal called to him. His head appeared through the gap in the wall. He crawled over to Roger and held out his arms for the babies. Violet made a little mewling sound. “You both want to go back to sleep, don’t you,” Crystal told them hopefully. 

Roger turned his head and grinned at him. “No such luck,” he said.

The box was made of a dark wood with leaves and berries carved into it. As Roger looked at it the berries bloomed red then faded in colour until they were the same overall tone as the wood of the box. Roger gently lifted the hinged lid. A clear glass ball nestled on a black velvet cushion. Roger carefully lifted it out. As he touched it red mist swirled within it. 

As Crystal had said there were other smaller boxes surrounding the crystal ball. Roger carefully lifted one out. A picture of a castle was carved into the wood. It was not a castle he recognised. He opened the little box and discovered round pieces of stone sitting on a dark red velvet cushion within it. He set that box back down and picked up one of the other boxes. This time he recognised a representation of Castle Indigo carved into the lid. That contained little pieces of stone too on a dark blue-purple cushion. 

He could feel milk dampening the front of his t-shirt and could hear the twins starting to make little noises. Crystal was talking soothingly to them. Roger closed the lid of the main box and reflected that it was a pity he could not take the box with him. He was startled to hear voices whispering to him – try it, try it, try... The box lifted off the floor easily when he tried it. Grinning he made his way back to Crystal. The section of wall that had opened up swung closed behind him.

*

Miami had dropped his end of the apparently very heavy wooden cradle on his foot which he was still slightly cross about. The man with him had set his end of the cradle down and had immediately thrown up impressive magical defenses. “It’s okay,” Miami had assured him, “this is John, the Copper Queen.”

“Your majesty,” the unknown man had said, bowing.

“Oh, there’s no need for that,” John told him. “Is Roger here?” He eyed the cradle, “Has he had the babies?”

*

They were having tea and freshly made scones in the kitchen and swapping stories when they heard a screaming baby heralding the arrival in the kitchen of Roger and Crystal. “John!” Roger exclaimed, “How lovely!” He glanced around as if John might have hidden Brian and Freddie somewhere. “Where are the others?”

This necessitated the telling of John, Brian and Freddie’s story again after John had been introduced to the twins. “Brian and Freddie should come back here,” Roger suggested, “and we can plan how to save Phoebe and Ratty.” He glanced at the box he had recovered from the hidden room. “And we can all look at this. I think the crystal ball might help focus our visions. I’m not sure what the stones in the little castle boxes are for though.”

*

They sat in a circle on cushions on the floor of the room of mystery, which was very similar to the room of mystery in the Colour Castle and, Roger told them, the room of mystery in Castle Indigo. The crystal ball had been carefully removed from the box and sat on the floor in the middle of the circle resting on the black velvet cushion.

“What do we do with it?” Brian wondered, placing one finger on the surface of the crystal ball which caused a swirl of white mist within it. “The cushions in the little castle boxes with the stones are all different colours,” he noted, “presumably relating to the colours associated with each castle. The crystal ball was resting on a black cushion. Does that mean it is associated with that colour?” He glanced at Freddie – the Black Queen. 

Freddie shrugged, “I’m as clueless as you are, dear,” he pointed out.

“I assume it will help us with visions in some way?” John said uncertainly.

Freddie reached out hesitantly and placed the fingertips of both hands on the crystal ball. The surface turned black and they all gasped. “Ooh,” Roger said. “Should we all try placing one of our fingers on it?” he suggested, placing one of his own on the ball without waiting for a reply.

A red line appeared around the middle of the ball. “Interesting,” John murmured, placing his finger on to the ball too. A thin shimmering line of copper appeared near the top of the ball. Brian placed one of his fingers on and a white line appeared down at the bottom.

“Do you have any feelings about this?” Roger asked Freddie. “Oh,” he said in a different tone. “He’s in a trance,” he told the others as they swivelled their heads in his direction.

“We’re presumably on the right track, then,” Brian noted. When neither Roger nor John replied he glanced at them and realised they too were entranced. They were staring at the crystal ball but he did not think that was what they were seeing. He found his own eyes drawn to the surface of the ball. 

*

Crystal paced up and down the corridors pushing his crying daughters in front of him in a very old pram Miami had unearthed somewhere. The pram creaked. There would have been room for at least four babies inside it. He was hoping the movement would lull the twins to sleep but they had been howling since Roger had accompanied the other Queens to the room of mystery. “Papa will be back soon,” he assured them. He could hear how desperate he sounded and suspected the babies could too. 

Roger and the others had been gone for a while and Crystal wondered what the crystal ball was revealing to them. Would they magically find out how to rescue the other assistants and defeat the colour army?

*

“We’ll have to do that again,” Freddie told them apologetically. “We did it in the wrong order.”

The others stared at him looking slightly dazed. “That’s why you can’t really put into words what you saw,” Freddie explained. “I had to touch the ball first but then it should have been Brian, then Roger and finally John.”

Roger gave a huffy little sigh. “Well can we get on with it please? The girls will need fed soon.”

“You’ve just fed them,” Brian pointed out, “Just before we came in here.”

“It’s never-ending,” Roger informed him haughtily. “Besides, I...I’m not sure why I think this but I feel they might be giving Crystal a hard time just now.”

*

Crystal sagged with relief when Roger appeared. “They haven’t stopped screaming since you left,” he gulped.

“Aw...” Roger peered into the pram. “Have you two little shits given your Daddy a hard time?” He scooped up Amber who immediately stopped crying. A moment later Violet also ceased wailing. “Where did you find this thing?” Roger asked, patting the pram. “If all else fails we can perhaps use it as a weapon against the colour army, wield it like a battering ram.”

Crystal grinned. “Miami found it somewhere. It’s certainly a sturdy design.” He leaned over and kissed Roger’s cheek. “I think I’ve offended everyone by insisting that we would have our own room instead of bunking down in the great hall with the others. The girls were howling at the time though so I did get a couple of grateful looks.”

Roger shrugged, “I’m fairly sure they’d hate us more if we did stay in the great hall and kept them awake all night.” He peppered Amber’s face with little kisses. “Because you two are noisy, aren’t you? Yes, you are.” He glanced at Crystal. “Anyway, I’d rather not be on public display.”

“People are bound to be curious about seeing actual Queens in the flesh,” Crystal told him.

“Yes, well, they can look all they want during the day but I’d like it if only you and the girls witnessed what I’m like when I’m feeding the girls in the middle of the night,” Roger muttered. 

“It’d scar them for life,” Crystal said, steering the pram and his little family group into a bedroom. He’d lit a fire earlier and was glad to find that the room now felt warm and cosy.

Roger smiled and Crystal felt a little warm glow – he had pleased his love. He’d also helped a grumbling Miami move the large wooden cradle into the room. 

Once Roger had fussed over the babies, tucking them into the massive cradle, Crystal sat down on the bed and pulled Roger close for a cuddle. “So, little gem, how did you lot get on with the toys in the box?”

Roger explained that they had used the crystal ball. “We’ve no idea what the stones in the little boxes do. We all tried holding the boxes and touching the stones and arranging them into patterns and so on but nothing happened.” He shrugged. “I have faith that if we need to know what they do we will be gifted the knowledge. It feels as if our magic – the magic of the former Queens and of the castles – is working with us to defeat Godfrey.” He flushed. “That’s what I believe, anyway,” he concluded a little defensively.

“What about the crystal ball?” Crystal asked. 

“We did it wrong at first,” Roger told him, “but then Freddie worked out how it worked and we had a collective vision.”

Roger told Crystal that collectively their vision had been about facing the colour army. “We are all there, including Phoebe and Ratty and the people who came here with us from Indigo Rock. We could see the impact our spell or spells had but we don’t know yet what they are.”

“The book I’ve been reading has thrown up some possibilities,” Crystal told him, “and Miami has been considering the spells he cast in our own castle against the colour army, although he used the magic of the castle which we obviously won’t have in the middle of a field.”

Roger looked thoughtful. “I wonder if...The magic of the castles...There might be something in that. I wonder if the stones are related to that?” he murmured. 

“What was the secret to using the crystal ball?” Crystal asked. 

“Freddie placed all his fingertips on it and then we all placed a finger on it. It felt incredible, Crys, we all felt how powerful – how old – the magic was and we all saw the same vision. First we saw the colour army and then we saw a ceremony that we think was about who will rule after Godfrey. It doesn’t appear to be us which I’m quite glad about. I think we were all glad about it,” Roger said.

Crystal grinned. “But you’d make such a good ruler,” he said, “I can just imagine the laws you’d pass – everyone must eat more cake and go for a nice walk every day.”

Roger stuck out his tongue at Crystal. “Everyone would be a lot happier if they did eat more cake and take a nice stroll every morning.”

“Was that all you saw?” Crystal asked.

“We didn’t understand the next thing,” Roger said slowly, “The four of us were on a cliff-top somewhere. We could see the sea. We were standing in a circle chanting something but we had no idea what or where we were or why. And Freddie seemed to be pregnant although we can’t quite see how that can be the case.”

“Interesting,” Crystal said, “Maybe when the curse was lifted that enabled the others to have children too.”

“Perhaps,” Roger agreed. “I expect there will be something in one of the libraries about it,” he said with a smile. He looked towards the cradle as the twins began to make little noises. He sighed. “Feeding time again...”

*

It turned out that everyone had heard the twins screaming through the night and the consensus of opinion was that it had been better not to have them in the great hall exercising their lungs in closer proximity to everyone else. Roger was slightly surprised that the other Queens had slept in the great hall. “I’m not doing that again, dear,” Freddie told him in a low voice, “I want a nice comfortable bed tonight.”

Everyone gathered in the great hall for breakfast and to discuss how to rescue Phoebe and Ratty. “We need some local knowledge,” one of the Indigo Rock contingent suggested. Roger thought his name was Joe. “Ideally we need to find people who are anti-Godfrey who have relatives who work at the gaol or – better still – work there themselves,” he added. 

“Yes, but how do we find people who are on our side?” another person asked. “We can’t just waltz up to people and say – ‘Hi, we’re hiding the Divination Queens nearby can you help us?’ can we?”

“I expect people already know we’re here,” Roger said, glancing up from Violet, who he was feeding. “This castle is near a small town, isn’t it? Nothing goes unnoticed in a small town.”

“What would you know about small towns?” someone muttered. 

Roger looked up again and met his eyes. “Living in a castle is a very good way to gain an understanding of how people behave in small communities,” he said calmly, “although you’re correct of course – I have very limited experience of the outside world.” 

“We are very reliant on your guidance,” Brian added in a soothing tone.

Roger thought that no one seemed to be providing any particularly useful guidance at the moment but he knew better than to voice that. He returned his gaze to Violet and felt Crystal’s hand on his back.

“He should take the babies into the town,” a voice said, “Nothing gets people chatting to you like a baby.”

“No,” Crystal said sharply. “What if that attracts the attention of someone sympathetic to Godfrey? Godfrey wants the Queens back and he will want the babies.”

“I think we have to assume that they will soon be aware we are here anyway,” Roger noted.

“Yes, well we don’t have to send up a fucking flare and alert everyone to your presence here,” Crystal snapped, “and we certainly don’t need to let the whole Kingdom know there are two tiny new Queens.”

Violet had stopped feeding and Roger was gently rubbing her back. She burped loudly and Roger grinned. “So tiny yet so loud,” he said. He looked up again, “So, it seems I am not going to entice the townsfolk to confide in me by displaying the charms of my children,” he said.

“It was just an idea,” the person who had suggested it muttered. 

“It was a good idea,” Freddie told them, “Roger is very good at getting people to talk, even without cute babies as a conversation starter. But I think Crystal has a point. We are fugitives. I think we should lay low.” He leaned forward, “In one of my visions I saw towns on fire. Perhaps a couple of people could go into town and explain that they are part of a group of refugees squatting in the castle. That should weed out any sympathisers or enemies, shouldn’t it?”

“Or,” John suggested, “Alternatively, we could just storm the prison and take Phoebe and Ratty.”

*

Roger was sitting on the heap of cushions and blankets John had been using as a bed the night before and watching Crystal who had been changing the girls and was now blowing raspberries on their bellies. He smiled at them, his heart felt almost painfully full of love for them as if it might explode at any moment. He became aware of someone looming over him and looked up to see the woman who had suggested that he should try to get townspeople to talk to him by taking the twins to shops. “Hey,” he greeted her, “have a seat.” He gestured towards the surrounding cushions and blankets.

She sat on a neatly folded heap of blankets. “I’m Clara. I didn’t mean to offend you earlier.”

Roger shook his head. “Don’t worry, you didn’t. It was a good idea but it probably is best if we lay low for a bit.”

Clara glanced towards Crystal. “Your partner was angry.”

Roger grinned. “He’s very protective,” he told her. “He’s very sweet, really.” He glanced at her. “Can you introduce me to everyone?” he asked. “I’d like to get to know them but I’ve been a bit preoccupied...” His gaze drifted back towards Crystal and the babies.

*

Clara was married to Joe and introduced Roger to him. He met a man everyone seemed to call Trip and recognised him as the man who had organised everyone alongside Miami yesterday. There were brothers Harry and Francis. Roger thought Harry was the person who had wondered what he knew about small towns but he seemed pleasant enough when Clara introduced them. There were two older women, Jane and Helen and Roger thought Helen had a lot of magic. The air around her seemed almost charged. He met another married couple, Tanya and Thomas and Tanya’s brother Mike. 

They had eventually decided to send Helen and Tanya into town as they needed provisions anyway. If they could find potentially trustworthy supporters amongst the townsfolk then that was all well and good but in the meantime they would prepare to rescue Phoebe and Ratty by force. Everyone Roger met had an opinion on this plan or how any storming of the prison should be done. Roger listened patiently, not offering his own views on the subject. He privately thought they would all do as John told them.

*

From the window of his cell Phoebe could see the platform he would be executed on being constructed over by the prison wall. He wondered if Ratty could see it too. He wondered how many other prisoners there were, if any. He could not hear any sounds of life in his cell. He was not certain if that was because there was some kind of sound muffling spell in place or if there were few other people there.

His meals were brought to him on trays which were shoved through a hatch in the door. Apart from when he had been questioned he had not left the cell. He was glad that he had been allowed to keep his bag after a search of it. It meant he could wear all the warmest clothes he had packed and he had a book to read. He’d picked one from random off the shelves of the library. At first glance Phoebe (and presumably his gaolers) had assumed it was a fictional thriller. The title was ‘The Adventures of Mr Green’. However, Phoebe was discovering it was something very different indeed.

*

Tanya and Helen brought back Max, Justin and Bob who were all magicians who wanted to help. They did not meet the Queens who remained in Crystal and Roger’s room out of sight. 

Freddie held out Violet towards Roger. “She’s adorable, darling, but I think she needs changing.”

Roger grinned and took her from Freddie. “You’ll have one of your own soon, it seems,” he noted. 

Freddie frowned. “I still don’t see how that is possible.”

Brian looked up from the book he was studying. “You’ll be a good dad,” he assured Freddie.

“Crystal suggested maybe the lifting of the curse means you can become pregnant too,” Roger noted as he changed Violet.

John was sitting with Amber nestled in his lap. He looked up. “That could be,” he agreed, “anyway, Brian’s right, Freddie, you’ll be a wonderful father.”

They all looked up as the door opened and Crystal entered. “Well,” Roger demanded, “what did they say?”

Crystal informed them that the townspeople had, as Roger had predicted, been aware that there were people at the castle. There seemed to have been some rumours that the Queens themselves were there although these tales were not widely believed apparently. “I think it’s hard for people to grasp that you lot are actual flesh and blood too,” he told them. 

“That might be just as well,” Brian noted.

Crystal added that almost everyone was united in dislike of Godfrey and most believed that Godfrey had murdered the old King in order to seize power. Hardly anyone thought the Queens had been responsible for the old King’s death. “As we had heard before The Association are trying to spread the truth about how you have been treated all these years. They are gaining support rapidly. I hadn’t realised that The Association have a branch in every village, town and city in the land. They have at least one agent everywhere, often the school-teacher. In theory it is because the new Colour Master could be anywhere. In practice, I suspect they have been hoping for this kind of chance to bring down the Kings for a long time. Anyway, the men from the town who came here all belong to The Association.”

“They don’t want us to rule, do they?” Roger asked. 

“No, don’t worry little gem. They want some kind of elected leadership that works with the Queens to use your skills,” Crystal explained. 

“Hmm,” John frowned, “as long as they don’t want to imprison us and curse us to do their bidding too.”

“That is not going to happen,” Crystal said firmly. “I won’t let it happen to you or to my daughters.” 

“Our hero,” Freddie drawled, “Let’s hope you can stop them, darling. Did they say anything else?” he asked.

Crystal scowled at Freddie. “They’re scared by the violent suppression of protests they’ve seen in other towns and cities, which is understandable, so they’re trying to keep a low profile for now. They are arming themselves and meeting in secret to share defensive spells.”

“What weapons do they have?” John asked. 

Crystal sighed. “Not many. A few of the farmers have guns but we’re talking a couple of ancient swords and some axes - that type of thing. They seem to be better at magic than I would have expected, though. It turns out the old bloke who taught me secretly was one of many like-minded magicians.”

“Well, that’s something, at least,” Roger murmured. Then he perked up. “I was reading the history of Castle Indigo last night during feeds and there’s a bit in it about the magic of the castle. Miami called on the magic of our castle to stymie the colour army. The book says all you need is part of the fabric of one of the castles in order to draw upon its magic to assist you.” He beamed at them. 

Everyone stared at him. “I’m afraid I forgot to pack part of the castle, dear,” Freddie said after a moment.

Roger rolled his eyes. “Crystal has a part of our castle,” he told them. He glanced at Crystal. “Please don’t say you’ve lost it.”

Crystal was perplexed. “It’s news to me I’ve got a bit of the castle,” he puzzled. 

“After the explosion,” Roger reminded him, “you had a piece of stone in your hand and you put it in your pocket. At least, that’s what my vision showed. You do still have it, don’t you?” Then he laughed, “But of course, how silly of me! It doesn’t matter if you’ve lost it! That’s what is in the boxes - stones from each of the castles!”

*

Max also had a cousin who worked at the prison. Tanya had told him that one of their friends had been arrested and they thought that was where he had been taken. Max had said that there was hardly anyone at the prison now. “For magical prisoners they usually use the fortress on Skull Island,” he had noted. “But Charmwell prison was originally built to hold magicians so your friend might be there.”

The prison had once been a country house, Max had said, “It belonged to the same family that owned the castle so there are probably books about it in the library here.”

John’s eyes had lit up when Crystal had told him that. He had carefully handed Amber to Crystal and stood up. “Great, I’ll go and see what I can find.”

*

John had found the original architect’s drawings of the house that was now the prison. He had interrogated Max about the magical protection in place at the gaol. “I doubt he’ll suspect I am a Queen,” he told the others, “but he will almost certainly know I am planning to spring someone from the prison!”

“I wish I could come with you,” Roger sighed as the prison-break task force assembled in the hallway of the castle.

“You’re needed here,” Brian pointed out, “You’re the only source of food for the new little Queens.”

“Be careful,” Roger urged them. John had hand-picked who he wanted with him and the task force consisted of John, Brian and Freddie, Miami, Trip, Helen and Joe. 

There was a tunnel from the castle that came out near the prison. “Of course there’s a bloody tunnel,” Freddie had sighed. “Our ancestors seem to have loved a handy tunnel.”

“They are very useful,” Brian had pointed out.

“Also very tunnelly,” Freddie sighed.

Crystal was staying behind to look after Roger (who had protested he didn’t need to be looked after). Crystal was secretly glad that they would not be separated. Roger was secretly glad they would be together.

*

Phoebe fastened the straps of the bag which he had hoisted on to his shoulders. If the book was correct the spells that were preventing him from doing magic should be removed at any second.

It felt as if a window had been opened and allowed fresh air into a room as the magic prevention spells lifted - an easing, the disappearance of a feeling of dread. Phoebe uttered a spell to open his cell door and then another location spell to allow him to find Ratty. A golden line formed at his feet and he cautiously followed it out into the corridor.

There was no one in sight although he could hear raised voices in the distance. He hurried along, following the golden line which led him to another cell along his corridor. “Ratty?” he whispered.

“Phoebe? What’s going on?” Ratty was standing in his cell looking bewildered when Phoebe opened the door. 

“Pack your things, we need to leave now,” Phoebe urged him. “I’ll explain later. We don’t have long.”

He cast another spell to help them locate the rescue party and they hurried off.

*

The guard did not have magic so Miami did not use any against him, knowing even as they began to fight that this was very likely how he ended up with the bruising their visions had foretold. Miami hadn’t been in a physical fight since his school days and thought that perhaps they should have been brushing up on those skills too. A lucky punch caused his assailant to stagger backwards and Brian helpfully hit the guard over the head with a piece of wood he had found from somewhere. The guard slumped to the ground. “Thanks,” Miami said. Brian nodded at him and they hurried on. That particular guard had not had any magic but they could sense a lot of magic in the building.

The hairs on the back of Miami’s neck stood on end as he felt magic being performed – trying to reinstate the spells preventing magic from being performed within the prison. He focussed his own magic on thwarting this. “Go,” he gasped to Brian, “I’ve got this – you go and find Phoebe and Ratty.”

Brian looked like he might argue but then shrugged and hurried off. They had left Trip and Helen keeping watch outside of the prison and the remaining group had split up and entered at different points once their spell had broken the magical protection around the prison. Miami wondered how the others were faring. He could sense at least one other person’s magic working with him to keep the defences down but he was not sure who was helping him.

*

The golden line branched off in two different directions. Phoebe considered this then muttered Freddie’s name. One of the lines glowed more brightly and they took that corridor. The corridors seemed to be deserted and Phoebe couldn’t hear anything from behind any of the doors they had passed. Had they been the only prisoners? He recognised this route – it was the way he had been taken for questioning. However, the golden line they were following branched off onto another corridor which ended in a flight of stairs they descended.

They could hear voices now echoing round the stairwell. They exchanged glances as they heard Freddie quite clearly saying, “Don’t you think you’d better give up my dears, before someone gets hurt?”

Phoebe motioned to Ratty to stay back as they got nearer to the foot of the stairs. A door was open, leading outside judging by the cold air it was letting in. John, Freddie and a man Phoebe didn’t recognise were facing several guards. Phoebe considered the best course of action then sent a spell intended to stun the guards towards them from his position slightly above them. 

It was gratifyingly effective – the guards all flew backwards landing in untidy heaps on the floor. Phoebe indicated to Ratty it was safe to move and they hurried down to Freddie and John and their unknown companion, who turned out to be called Joe.

*

Miami heard the ringing noise they had agreed on to indicate that it was time to withdraw. He frowned. Had Phoebe and Ratty been located or had something gone wrong? He could still feel magic working against their magic. He began to cautiously move towards the door they had entered by still working to thwart the unknown magician or magicians in the prison.

Brian appeared alone. “What’s happening?” he whispered. 

Miami shrugged. “No idea. Perhaps the others found them? You go and I’ll follow – they are still trying to reinstate their magical defences.”

Brian nodded. “Come straight out after me,” he urged Miami. 

Brian had left and Miami was almost at the door when something thumped into his back sending him crashing to the floor. It was a few moments before he realised it was a person and that they must have come in the door he had been hoping to leave by. Had Brian managed to get away?

*

Brian had almost reached Trip and Helen when he heard a muffled cry. He turned around but couldn’t see anything. He looked questioningly at Trip and Helen.

“Someone entered the door you exited,” Helen told him. 

Brian paled. “Miami is still in there!”

They all whirled round as a voice said, “Where’s Miami?”

Brian was relieved to see John, Freddie and Joe accompanied by Ratty and Phoebe. He explained that Miami had stayed behind and now someone was with him.

“Shit,” John muttered. “Okay, you guys go back to the castle. I’ll go back in there.”

“Are you crazy?” Freddie hissed, “You can’t go in there alone!”

“Miami’s in there alone just now,” John pointed out, “Besides, our visions suggest I do go in alone and that we go back to the cabin, don’t they?”

“Not exactly,” Freddie protested, but John was already heading back towards the prison.

“Come on,” Brian said, putting his arm around Freddie. “We do at least know that they will be okay.”

Freddie sighed and allowed himself to be steered back towards the tunnel. No one seemed to be chasing them so perhaps the people they had been fighting in the stairwell had accounted for most of the personnel of the prison. They moved swiftly nevertheless. 

He thought of the visions. True, they had seen John assisting Miami to the cabin. Miami had been injured, Freddie recalled with a little shudder. That was only one possible version of the future, however. Also, there was nothing in that vision that suggested it was as a result of this incident or that only John had gone to Miami’s aid. Still, it was done now. He had to focus on helping get everyone in this group back to the castle. 

The trip through the tunnel (which was not magical and therefore tediously long) was enlivened for Freddie as Phoebe told them about the book he had packed. “It’s full of prophecies,” Phoebe told them. “As far as I can tell it was written by one of the former Queens – a green one. I don’t understand a lot of the prophecies but some of them were surprisingly clear. They go into quite a lot of detail about you rescuing us from prison.”

Exchanging their stories kept them entertained (and kept their minds occupied instead of fretting about John and Miami) until they emerged in Charmstone Castle again. Roger was hovering near the door and hugged everyone enthusiastically as they left the tunnel. “Where’s John? Where’s Miami?”

*

Miami was trying to fight back but his assailant seemed to be a huge solid wall of muscle. He should have known he hadn’t been nearly damaged enough to match what the visions had foretold. With some irritation he wished they had been wrong about this one. 

Suddenly the assault on him ceased abruptly. The guard who had attacked him shot into the air with a startled cry and was flung further down the corridor landing in a heap. John helped Miami to his feet. “You used magic on him,” Miami observed, feeling slightly dazed. John was hauling him towards the door.

“I’m pretty sure he was magical,” John muttered, “And I’m afraid I don’t really care if that was unfair or un-gentlemanly. Also it really wasn’t a fair fight. Come on, we need to get out of here quickly.”

Miami thought his ribs might be broken. He hobbled as quickly as possible across the courtyard to a gate they had opened by magic. They could hear shouts behind them now and the prison magicians were close to reinstating their defensive spells. They could see the gate closing and John put on a burst of speed, half dragging Miami with him. They made it through just before the gate slammed shut. 

Miami cast a concealment spell on them both and tried to move as quickly as he could. John was staying close to the perimeter wall and Miami realised he intended to edge around it until they were at the closest point to the woods the tunnel from the castle had ended in. 

He recollected the visions and realised that as they were being pursued they would have to head well away from the tunnel. He assumed that was how they ended up at the cabin. A little voice in his head reminded him that was only one possible version of the future. 

*

“I should go to the cabin,” Crystal fretted. He had the best healing abilities in their group. But he was reluctant to leave Roger. 

As if reading his mind, Roger said, “I’ll be okay. There are plenty of people to help with the girls if I need a hand.” 

“I’d love to see them?” Phoebe said eagerly, “And I’d be delighted to help in any way I can.”

“There, you see?” Roger’s fingers brushed Crystal’s cheek. “We’ll be in good hands. Phoebe will probably be more competent with the girls than either of us.” 

Crystal cast Phoebe a doubtful glance. “I’ll only stay for as long as necessary to see to Miami’s injuries,” Crystal promised. 

*

Miami thought he might have lost consciousness for a bit after he had climbed the tree with a lot of assistance from John. They sat on a broad branch high up. John was holding on to Miami who was also leaning against the trunk of the tree. John was also maintaining an invisibility spell which Miami boosted once he was feeling less groggy. Pain seemed to sweep over him in waves. He felt sick but he could hear people crashing through the woods searching for them and knew if he vomited they would be discovered.

John had noted that almost no one looked up. They could have hidden on the forest floor and used magic to conceal their whereabouts but a lot of magicians could sense where magic had been used so that was risky. 

Snow began to fall.

*

Crystal lit a fire in the cabin and then wondered if he should have done that. Would the smoke alert someone to his presence? On the other hand, without the fire there was every chance he’d be frozen solid before Miami and John arrived. He tried to recall what the visions had shown. Had they arrived in daylight? He should have paid more attention. If they arrived in daylight he was going to have a long wait. Should he go back to Roger? Phoebe would be a comforting soothing presence for Roger, though. And Phoebe would no doubt be competent at looking after the babies too. Roger and the babies were in safe hands. 

He settled down near the fire and opened the book he had brought with him – the volume on magical military techniques. It occurred to him that once the Queens and the assistants were all present they could use the techniques mentioned in the vision focussing book and maybe the crystal ball Roger had found to channel all their visions. He felt a little flutter of excitement at the thought. Surely that would give them some answers?

He opened the book and began to read.

*

Amber was suckling, tucked into the crook of Roger’s arm. He was holding the book of prophecies in his other hand. “Do you think there’s any kind of order to them?” he asked Phoebe.

Phoebe shook his head, “No, not as far as I can see. The prophecies about our rescue from prison were scattered throughout the book.”

Roger nodded. “Did anything else catch your eye?” he asked. 

*

Getting down out of the tree was even harder than getting into it in the first place which Miami wouldn’t have thought was possible until he tried it. John waited anxiously at the foot of the tree for him, glancing around to make sure no one was watching although it had been a long time since the last soldier had passed – evidently trailing dispiritedly back to the prison. 

Miami fell the last part and landed in soft snow. He lay there for a moment knowing it was going to hurt and bracing himself to face the pain and summoning the energy to stand up. He was cold and wet by the time he was on his feet again. John curved his arm around him. “Can you walk?” he asked, sounding worried. 

Miami nodded, feeling that speaking would waste too much energy. He wanted to say he could only walk slowly but he figured John would work that out pretty quickly. He shuffled along leaning heavily on John and feeling guilty about that. He would sap John’s strength too. But he had no choice. 

*

Crystal suddenly felt wide awake. He re-read the paragraph to make sure he had understood correctly. He considered what Roger had said about using the magic of the castle and reached into the pocket of his jeans where the part of the castle wall he had picked up following the explosion was. He grinned. He wished Roger was there so he could tell him what he had found.


	7. You Don't Normally Say It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter!
> 
> Thanks so much to everyone who has read this and to everyone who has left kudos or a comment - it means so much to me :)

Chapter Seven - You Don’t Normally Say It

“You absolute fuck-wits,” Godfrey seethed, “The whole fucking point of announcing we were going to execute the fucking assistants was so those bloody utter fucking bitches would try to rescue them. When they did try to fucking rescue them you were supposed to capture the fucking Queens not let them waltz out and take the fucking assistants with them!” He glared at the assembled personnel of the prison. 

“We think they’re at Charmstone Castle your majesty,” one of the guards announced helpfully. 

Godfrey whirled round to glare at him. “Of course they are at fucking Charmstone fucking castle you fucking fool!” he hissed, “Behind thick walls reinforced with fucking impenetrable charms and spells. They should be here under lock and key! It is entirely the fault of you incompetent half-witted imbeciles that they escaped.”

*

Crystal held his hand steady over Miami’s shattered ribs and concentrated on the spell to heal them. “This isn’t instant,” he warned Miami. “You’ll still be in pain. They’ll take a while to heal fully. But the residual pain should be easier to manage.”

“Thank you,” Miami croaked.

“No need to thank me,” Crystal muttered. He was glad now that he had taken the decision to wait for John and Miami at the cabin in the woods. When they had staggered to the little shelter as dawn was breaking over the snowy forest he had realised how badly injured Miami was – he was in worse shape than Crystal had been expecting from the visions.

“Once Miami is able to travel we should go back to the castle,” John said softly. “It has more magical protection. We’re safer there. And they are looking for us now.” 

*

They held a meeting in the great hall once everyone was back. Miami lounged on a nest of cushions and blankets close to the fire. Everyone was bunched close together so they could all share information.

“We’ve strengthened the defensive spells on the castle,” John began. “I think we have to assume that if Godfrey didn’t know where we were before he certainly does now.”

“We haven’t seen anything that suggests there is any violence here,” Freddie noted, “although I don’t think we should get complacent about that. Our visions all point towards us facing a colour army in the countryside.”

They explained that Miami had used the magic of the Colour Castle against Godfrey’s colour army before – attacking their senses and rendering them incapable. “Crystal has a stone from the Colour Castle with him,” Roger told them, “and we think we might be able to channel the magic of the castle through that. Also I found a box in a hidden room here which seems to hold castle stones for each of the castles of the Queens.”

Crystal nodded. “From the book about military magic I’ve been reading it sounds as if the Queen’s castles all had boxes wherein bits of stone left over from the construction of the castle are held precisely for use when you need a portable magical boost. I’m not sure how or why they all ended up here – it sounds as if initially they were all at their respective castles but the box Roger found seems almost certain to hold the castle stones described in the book. There are enough for all of us – each piece would fit easily in the palm of your hand. We think that ideally the stones for this castle should be used – it should be the castle closest to the action whose magic is drawn upon. However, there does appear to be a suggestion that the Colour Castle is the root of the magic so the stones from there might be useful too.”

“So we can all call upon the magic of the castle?” John nodded, “Well, that sounds promising.”

“Do we attack the senses of the colour army again?” Clara wondered, “As Miami did?” She gave a little shudder. “It seems horrible – to blind and deafen them.”

“The sense loss is temporary,” Miami assured her. “It is intended to slow them down and incapacitate them but it wears off after a while.”

“Part of our group will be carrying out defensive spell-work to protect our group,” John told her, “And another group will attack using magic. Since it worked before attacking the senses seems sensible, although we do face the danger that they might be expecting that this time and have some defences of their own in place.”

“The other thing the military book suggests,” Crystal informed them, “is that conjuring is used to produce ropes of the opposite magical colours of your enemy to make them incapable of performing magic.”

“Even a huge colour army wouldn’t be able to afford to expend that much energy on conjuring,” Joe protested. “It would take far too many people and they would be exhausted and incapable of carrying out any further magic in a very short period of time.”

“That’s true if magicians are using their own magic,” Crystal agreed, “but the book indicates the magic of the castles should be drawn on for that purpose. It also suggests that if you are faced with a colour army the best course of action is to conjure a multi-coloured rope to lie in a circle around them – effectively stopping them and adding metallic chains to thwart any metal magicians.”

“Well, they certainly wouldn’t be expecting us to do that,” John noted, sounding doubtful.

“From our visions we have seen Godfrey bound with a dark yellow rope,” Brian recalled, “so it would appear that will stop him.”

“So we do that bit of conjuring and binding at the very least,” Freddie noted.

“Everyone knows the magical colours of the Queens,” Trip pointed out, “Godfrey’s colour army could bind the Queens.”

“Yes,” John sighed, “and if Godfrey has a large enough colour army, which he may, he might try that – he may well consider it worth the manpower and effort.”

Crystal cleared his throat, “The military book also has a section regarding what to do if you want to avoid your own colour army being bound.”

John grinned. “How useful!”

“It’s surprisingly simple,” Crystal told him. “All we have to do is hold hands or link arms – physical contact, basically. And ideally, to make the protection stronger, we should be arranged either in a circle with opposite colours opposite each other or in rows with opposite colours next to each other. Personally, I would prefer rows so Rog and I can be next to each other.”

“I’m sure that can be arranged,” John smiled. 

Phoebe looked thoughtful. “I think there is something about holding hands in the book of prophecies,” he said. 

“We should keep looking at that,” Freddie said, “to see if we can work out anything else.”

“We might be running out of time,” Trip pointed out grimly.

“Everyone who is reading needs to read faster,” Roger suggested with a grin.

* 

“Why in a field?” Freddie wondered. “How do we all end up on a hillside? Why doesn’t Godfrey attack us here?”

“There would be no point, would there?” Brian noted, “This castle is very well defended both physically and magically.”

“It got burnt,” Roger said thoughtfully.

They were sitting around the kitchen table with mugs of tea. Roger’s baby alert orbs floated serenely over the table although Crystal was with the girls in their room. 

John considered this. “The castle was occupied by someone the Kings had put in control of this area,” he pointed out, “What if the magic didn’t really work for them? What if the magic is most effective when Queens are in the castle? All of these castles seem to have belonged to our predecessors at one point.”

“That seems likely,” Phoebe agreed, “but it still doesn’t answer the question of why we leave the safety of the castle to fight Godfrey in a field.”

“Perhaps he lures us out,” Roger suggested dreamily with a little shudder.

John looked sharply at him. “Are you ‘seeing’ something to that effect?” he asked. 

Roger looked startled. “What?”

“You have a certain tone of voice sometimes, darling,” Freddie told him, “that makes me – and apparently also John – wonder if you’re predicting things.”

“Oh,” Roger shook his head, “I haven’t had a vision.”

“Not what you recognise as a vision,” Brian said, “but we all know so little about our own magic.”

They all sighed. 

*

Clara was taken as bait. She was snatched off the street when she went to the bakers in town. They always left the castle in pairs. Tanya had been with Clara and had been knocked unconscious. A note had been pinned to the front of her coat: If you want her back come to Cherry Tree Field at noon tomorrow.

“We should have expected something like this,” John sighed.

“It’s always easy to be wise after the event,” Miami pointed out, “Don’t beat yourself up about it.”

“Why didn’t you fucken foresee it?” Joe howled.

“I’m so sorry we didn’t dear,” Freddie soothed him, “I’m afraid our gifts are limited.” He wished his question about why they left the castle had not been answered in this way.

“We’ll need to ask a local where Cherry Tree Field is,” Brian noted. 

*

Roger and Brian went to speak to Mr Fuller the farmer who owned Cherry Tree Field. “Why them?” Joe had muttered to Trip.

“Their colours,” Trip had replied simply. “Red for warmth and cosiness and confidences and white for purity and truth and goodness.”

Roger and Brian sat at Mr Fuller’s kitchen table and listened as he told them that Cherry Tree Field lay to the south of the town. The river Charm wound around Hungry Hill to the north of the field and acted as the eastern boundary of the field. Mr Fuller told them that Godfrey would almost certainly expect them to approach from the west around the hill. “The hill is steep on the side you’d have to climb to face them atop it,” Mr Fuller informed them, “and it’s marshy at the foot of the hill. They won’t expect you to use the hill.”

“But?” Roger prompted gently, sensing that Mr Fuller was about to tell them how to use the hill. 

Mr Fuller grinned, “But, your majesty, there is a route through the marsh and although it is a steep climb I can tell you the easiest way to go.”

*

They made their plans either around the table in the kitchen or sitting by the fire in the great hall. “Assuming we pull this thing off and successfully bind the colour army,” John said, “what the hell do we do with them next?”

“I think there is something in the book of prophecies about that,” Phoebe told him, flicking through the pages and handing him the book, tapping the relevant entry. “Here, where it mentions the bound army...”

John frowned. “It’s a bit vague,” he began then looked up sharply. “There’s someone outside,” he said.

“I think that’s in here too,” Phoebe said, “It mentions something about the arrival of ‘an associate’.”

“Someone from The Association?” Brian wondered. 

“Who do we send to the door?” Freddie asked. 

“I’ll go,” Miami rose, brushing aside their protests. “We can’t endanger any of the Queens and technically I work for The Association, if it is them at the gates.”

*

The little group at the castle gates looked like mild-mannered accountants or shop-keepers rather than revolutionaries. “Mr Beach,” one of them greeted him. “I am Mr Hutton. We met before, a while ago, you may not remember...”

“I remember you well,” Miami assured him. “You were part of the group who first approached me when I had been summoned. Please,” he added, “call me Miami.”

“Then you must call me Jim,” Mr Hutton invited him. “We are here to help in any way we can,” he added.

“You’d best come in, then,” Miami suggested. 

*

Roger recognised Jim Hutton from some of his visions. He was in the courtroom when Godfrey was on trial and Roger thought he formed part of the new ruling group. He was in a meeting in a reception room at the Colour Castle too. 

As Mr Hutton shook hands with Freddie, Roger’s vision swam and he could suddenly see Freddie and Mr Hutton in Freddie’s rooms in the Colour Castle, standing on either side of a baby’s cot. “Oh,” he exclaimed, startled.

“Are you okay, gem?” Crystal asked worriedly. 

“I’m fine, thank you,” Roger nodded, “I just had an unexpected vision, that’s all.” They all looked expectantly at him. “It’s not of use to the present situation,” he told them firmly. 

*

“What did you see?” Crystal asked later. He grinned when Roger told him. “Have you told Freddie?”

Roger looked shocked. “No!” he exclaimed, “We don’t tell each other about personal things we’ve seen!” He considered this, “I mean, it depends what it is but no...I’ll only intervene if he looks like he’s going to make a mess of it...”

Crystal grinned. “So you have a hands-off approach to personal visions except when you feel you just have to interfere?”

Roger glared at him. “Oh, fuck off, you know what I mean!”

Crystal slid his arms around Roger’s waist. “I’m not entirely sure that I do, but I know that I love you.” He dipped his head so he could kiss Roger. “I can’t think of anyone I’d rather face a colour army with.”

*

“I hope noon isn’t a time the girls find inconvenient,” Roger muttered as he adjusted the straps on the baby-sling.

Crystal grinned. “Nah, they’re both going to sleep through the whole thing,” he told Roger with more confidence than he felt.

They were leaving early to give them time to pick their way single file across the marshland at the foot of the hill and make their way up the hill. They had worked out the order they would have to move in so they could form lines consisting of opposite colours next to each other. Everyone had a fragment of stone from Castle Charmstone in their pocket and the magicians who were going to carry out the binding spell also had pieces also had stones from the Colour Castle. Crystal had the piece of heart shaped stone he had picked up from the Colour Castle. He had queried whether he needed a Charmstone fragment too but Roger had urged him to err on the side of caution. “What if it works best if we all have a fragment of the same place?”

It was misty which should obscure them from any prying eyes. Mr Fuller led them through the marsh and then directed them to the start of the path up the hill. He wished them luck as they set off up the steep path.

They could already hear the colour army – a buzz of voices carrying for quite some distance. 

Once they reached the top of the hill they could see the colour army – facing slightly in the direction they expected the Queens to approach from. And so they assembled unseen at first just below the top of the hill where there was a natural ledge which could almost have been made for their little group to gather on.

Their defensive magicians had begun muttering their defensive spells as they climbed the hill. The attacking magicians had started to chant the rope and chain conjuring spells as they reached the top of the hill, joining hands even as they formed into lines on the hillside.

Crystal could see a glimmering he thought were the beginnings of metal chains forming around the feet of the soldiers at the front of Godfrey’s army. There was a little copse of cherry trees near the river and he suspected Godfrey was lurking in there, unseen. He wondered if Clara was being held there too. He didn’t bother to comment on the size of the colour army and Roger didn’t assure him they could defeat them. Crystal wondered if the things Miami heard were warnings rather than predictions.

They heard the ripple of surprise – with fear mixed in – as the colour army realised something magical was happening. Then there was a surge of noise and a surge of magic as the colour army noticed them and noticed their spells for the first time. 

They were trying to bind the Queens and, to Crystal’s surprise, the assistants. He could feel their own defensive magicians thwarting them. And he could hear a steady humming noise that he realised was emanating from the castle stones in their pockets. It was hard to make progress with the ropes and chains due to the sheer volume of magic exploding towards them. 

Crystal thought the castle stones were boosting their defences. But he did not think the piece of the Colour Castle he was carrying was doing anything. He closed his eyes, tipped his head back and softly asked the magic of the Colour Castle to help them bind the colour army. He heard a ripple of surprised noises spreading around him and opened his eyes. 

He had thought the Queens had been imprisoned in the Colour Castle due to the location – kept in a castle surrounded by a moat on an island in a lake enclosed by a circle of hills. But now, seeing the suddenly much thicker rope and chains swirling around the feet of the colour army he suspected the location had only been a part of it – the activated fragments of the Colour Castle seemed to be providing a hell of a magical boost. 

“Well done,” Roger murmured, adding, “Thank you.”

*

It was over quickly after that. Godfrey strode forward shouting something they couldn’t hear but yellow rope was already winding around him, slowing him down and eventually stopping him.

Roger and Crystal looked at each other. “We’ve done it,” Roger noted softly.

Joe was already running down the hill, slipping and sliding as he followed the golden line his location spell had revealed – racing towards Clara who did indeed seem to be amongst the trees.

They followed more cautiously, Roger and Crystal walked slowly, keen not to slide or fall when they had Amber and Violet strapped to their chests. The babies had slept through the whole thing although Roger thought they would wake shortly.

They arrived near Godfrey slightly after the other Queens. Godfrey was screaming obscenities at them. “Now, now,” Crystal frowned, “I don’t want my daughters hearing that kind of foul language, thank you.”

“Fuck you and fuck your accursed brats!” Godfrey screamed, “A cur...” His voice broke off in a strangled yelp as he tried to utter the word ‘curse’ and the rope binding his magic prevented him. “Fuck you!” he shouted, “You fucking bitches will get what’s coming to you – whores! You evil fucking cunts!”

They had sent Harry back to the castle to let Jim Hutton and his magicians know that they had successfully bound Godfrey and the colour army so that they could start to carry out the spells necessary to transport such a large group to the prison on Skull Island where they could be contained to await trial. 

The Association were now in control of large parts of the Kingdom and had seized control of Skull Island only a couple of days earlier. Roger watched in fascination as the colour army began to vanish. Godfrey was still yelling at them when he suddenly looked very surprised and then disappeared. Roger grinned. “The look on his face!” he said gleefully. 

Crystal grinned at him. Amber mewled. Roger sighed. “Feeding time again,” he muttered. 

*

In the days that followed Roger and Crystal returned to Castle Indigo with the twins and also Phoebe, Clara (who had been found tied up amongst the cherry trees, shaken but unhurt) and Joe. Roger would have liked to have gone home but they thought there were still troops at the Colour Castle. 

The others remained at Castle Charmstone. The news of Godfrey’s defeat had spread rapidly through the Kingdom and The Association had taken over the running of the Kingdom for the time being. There had been little to no resistance to this.

The colour army and Godfrey had successfully been transported by Jim Hutton’s Association group to the magical containment unit on Skull Island to await trial. “We should be able to go home soon,” Roger told Crystal. “They’re rounding up all the remaining troops loyal to Godfrey.”

*

“What do you think will happen to us?” Roger asked Crystal one morning. It was around a month since they had defeated Godfrey and his trial was about to begin. Roger and Crystal were still at Castle Indigo and they were currently in the kitchen having breakfast. 

“Us?” Crystal gestured between himself and Roger. 

Roger shook his head. “The Queens us,” he clarified. “Will the public still want to pay to keep us in our castle to provide visions? Will they regard that as a good use of public funds? If we don’t stay in the Colour Castle where would we go? What would we do?”

He was evidently worried about this. “They will want you to stay at the castle and keep having visions,” Crystal told Roger firmly. “You are useful.”

“They’ll want a new set too, then,” Roger muttered. 

“From what I’ve seen of the people in The Association and of Mr Hutton I don’t think you need to worry about being forced to have children,” Crystal said, adding, “Would you like more?”

Roger laughed, “Perhaps, Crys, but not right now!”

Crystal smiled at him. He thought Roger did have a point though. The visions of the Queens were valuable to the Kingdom. He was certain that the public would be overjoyed if the Queens continued to serve in that way. But they would expect a continuation of that as they had always had a set of Queens. He thought of the visions of a pregnant Freddie. Would the other Queens now be able to have children? That would take the pressure off Roger – and him. 

“People don’t want to live in castles,” he commented to Roger. He waved his hand, gesturing towards the walls of the room they were sitting in. “Look at this place – no one wanted to live here.”

“True,” Roger agreed, “and I’m not sure how welcoming the castles might be to non-Queens,” he said thoughtfully. “Mr Fuller, the farmer who told us how to find our way to the hilltop to fight the colour army, told me that the people Godfrey put in Charmstone Castle didn’t like it. They thought it was haunted apparently. I did wonder if the castle was maybe working against them.”

“It’s possible,” Crystal agreed. “There’s still so much we don’t know about your magic and the magic of the castles.”

Roger nodded, crunching some toast. “Oh,” he said suddenly, “I forgot to tell you – I found some information about the Queen who attacked the others in her set. She’s mentioned in the history of this castle.”

Crystal frowned. “But she came after the takeover of power. How could she be mentioned in the history of this place?”

“She came here,” Roger said simply, “very briefly before she was captured. She seems to have fled through the route Miami used from our room of mystery to here.”

“Does it say anything about why she attacked the others?” Crystal asked. 

Roger nodded, swallowing a mouthful of toast and washing it down with tea. “The history book makes it clear there was something very wrong with the set. They had two Silver Queens, a Reflective Queen and the Queen who attacked the others was an Orange Queen.”

“A Reflective Queen?” Crystal echoed, startled. “A Queen that picked up on the colours around them rather than having their own specific colour?” he clarified. “I thought reflective magicians were a myth.”

Roger nodded, “Yes, they had two metallics, a very rare reflective and the Orange Queen.”

Roger told Crystal that the set had apparently not worked well. “They went for weeks with no visions at all and the visions they did have were vague. There were rumours that the Reflective Queen acted oddly, although the book does not specify in what way.”

The Orange Queen had become pregnant. “The book suggests that the father was the King at the time,” Roger said. “When the Orange Queen miscarried it seems that the King blamed the Reflective Queen in some way. The book says the King cursed the Queens so that metallic Queens or unconventionally coloured Queens could not give birth.”

Crystal considered this. “If that was an addition to the main curse then perhaps we broke that too,” he said, “Maybe that is why we’ve had visions of Freddie pregnant.”

Roger nodded, “That would explain it, wouldn’t it? Anyway, according to the book it was not the Orange Queen who attacked the rest of the set – they attacked her because of what the King had done to them. She tried to flee and come here but she was captured – she was now their only hope of producing a new set so they needed her.”

Crystal shuddered. “That poor woman,” he muttered, “Losing a child and having to deal with all that madness and misery on top of it.” He reached across the table and squeezed Roger’s hand. “As long as there is breath in my body I will not allow anyone to hurt you or the other Queens or our girls.”

Roger smiled at him. “I know,” he said softly, “and I love you very much for that.”

*

Crystal’s prediction that the public would want the Queens to continue to work on behalf of the Kingdom proved correct. He was also correct in thinking that no one else wanted the Colour Castle and everyone was happy for the Queens to continue living there. He had not foreseen that the Queens would now have a salaried position as well as having their living expenses paid. “John negotiated that,” Miami informed Crystal.

The Queens and assistants had all returned to the Colour Castle as the first signs of spring were starting to show. Miami told them about Godfrey’s trial. He had been sentenced to life imprisonment. “I would feel bad about that,” Miami confided to Roger, “but then I think about what he did to you and I wish I could imprison him for several lifetimes.”

The Kingdom was now a Republic and was presided over by a committee of people elected from all the different areas of the land. There was a mix of the magical and non-magical.

Several members of The Association had taken up posts in the new government. Crystal was slightly surprised to discover that Mr Hutton was not amongst them. “I didn’t feel that was where my talents lay,” he explained to Crystal in his soft gentle voice. “Besides, we can’t all leave The Association. It is still required, I believe, to source Colour Masters and Assistants and to research the nature of the magic of the castles and the Queens.”

A lot of Mr Hutton’s own research seemed to be undertaken at the Colour Castle with Freddie. It was an open secret that he was sharing Freddie’s bed. 

*

They were free to leave the castle and in theory had all the other castles at their disposal. There was, they realised, a castle for each Queen plus the Colour Castle. Roger had continued to read the history of Castle Indigo and informed them that a long time ago, when the Queens had ruled, they had spent part of each year at their respective castles but had gathered at least every full moon at the Colour Castle.

Castle Bloodstone and Castle Crimson were now ruins. They had been destroyed during the takeover of power when the Queens were first imprisoned. 

This reminded John that in the Colour caves there had been a route leading to each castle plus a mysterious route with a gold flecked arch of stone over its entrance. “We should investigate that,” he suggested. He glanced out of the window. It was raining heavily. “We could wait until the weather is better, though.”

They occasionally visited their new friends in Charmstone and at Indigo Rock. They also explored the libraries there to advance their knowledge of their magic and the magic of the castles. 

*

By early summer Freddie was pregnant and decided not to join them when they decided to undertake the excursion to see where the passage in the Colour Caves with the gold-flecked stone led. “I still can’t quite believe I’m pregnant,” Freddie told Roger, “It’s just not something I ever thought would happen to me.”

Freddie seemed to be sailing serenely through pregnancy and Roger was trying not to be jealous about the lack of sickness and exhaustion. “I am happy for him, truly I am,” Roger told Crystal, “and I would never wish a pregnancy like mine on anyone, it’s just...”

“Not fair?” Crystal suggested, kissing him. “It’s understandable that you would be a bit jealous of Freddie being able to enjoy his pregnancy in a way that was denied to you, little gem,” he assured Roger. 

As the trip to see where the final route from the Colour Cave led was going to be a long one Roger remained behind with Amber and Violet while Crystal accompanied John, Brian and Miami on the excursion through the Colour Cave. 

“It’ll probably just be another ruin,” Phoebe suggested as they sat in Freddie’s rooms drinking tea. John, Brian and Miami had gone to see the ruins of Castle Bloodstone and Castle Crimson. (“Just to make sure,” John had noted, “that they are not simply rumoured to be ruins as Castle Indigo was.”)

“It’s odd that there doesn’t seem to be any mention of another castle,” Roger said. He shrugged. “Well, we’ll find out soon enough, I expect.” He knew Crystal would have been happy to stay with the girls and let Roger go if he had wanted to but since they had returned to the Colour Castle Roger had felt no great urge to leave it again in a hurry. Before, when they had been unable to leave, he had always wanted to see what was beyond the lake and the hills but now that he had seen a bit of the world he was quite content to stay where he was. He thought knowing he could leave if he wanted to made a difference too. 

*

The adventurers returned giddy with excitement and jubilant at what they had found. “The Sandcastle,” Crystal laughed. 

The Sandcastle?” Roger repeated.

“There’s a house,” John told them, his eyes shining, “built into a cliff. It’s the most amazing place, Roger, you’ll love it – you too, Freddie! It’s very beautiful. At the foot of the cliff is a sandy beach. We’ve seen the beach in some of our visions. The girls would love it, Roger.”

“We think it might be a holiday home,” Miami told them, “I think the olden days Queens might have thought of it as a beach hut, although the house is very spacious and of course it’s very unusual.”

“It doesn’t sound very comfortable,” Freddie said doubtfully, “if it’s all hewn out of rock.”

“Oh, it has plenty of soft furnishings,” Brian laughed, “And a surprising amount of light in each room. Really, you must see it – it’s incredible!”

*

The summer was long and hot and they spent quite a bit of time at The Sandcastle, enjoying the refreshing sea breezes and being able to swim in the sea. Amber and Violet loved being able to splash about in the water. “Although if I was building it I wouldn’t have stuck the house into the side of a cliff,” Roger grumbled as he carried a sleepy Violet back up the steps from the beach to the house while Crystal carried a similarly tired-out Amber.

Crystal grinned, “There’s probably a magical route we haven’t found yet.”

“Oh,” Roger considered this, “there probably is. We must look.”

*

“A magical route down to the beach would be marvellous,” Freddie sighed, caressing his bump. “I’m getting too big to haul myself up and down the steps.”

“You’re barely showing,” Roger laughed, “but you must be tired,” he conceded. “They had tunnels leading everywhere else you could possibly think of so surely there will be an easy magical route here!”

In the end it was Violet who discovered the magical route to the beach. She crawled towards the wall of the kitchen which was tiled and pressed one little hand against it. To their astonishment a section of the tiled wall slid to one side revealing an opening behind it. Crystal scooped Violet up and stepped into the opening. When he returned, he said, “It’s just like stepping through a door directly onto the beach!”

Freddie laughed, “All those times I toiled up and down the steps and I could have wandered through there!”

“I expect the steps were good exercise,” Roger muttered, “but really we should have known there would be a tunnel.”

“This is the most useful tunnel so far,” Freddie said. 

*

There was no library at The Sandcastle (“Thank goodness,” Ratty had muttered, “even the olden days Queens must have needed some time off.”) There were bookshelves in several of the rooms although these proved to hold works of fiction and cookery books which confirmed their belief that this place had been used by the Queens of old for recreational purposes.

“This recipe book looks like it has instructions on how to make tonics for pregnancy,” Phoebe told them, glancing at Freddie. They were sitting around the kitchen table and Phoebe was sitting at the kitchen table flicking through a book. As he turned a page a piece of paper fluttered to the floor.

Roger picked it up. “Oh,” he said softly, “it’s a pregnancy blessing.” He scanned the writing on the paper. “You know that vision we had where we seemed to be on a cliff-top chanting something? Well, I think we were doing this.”

“Oh, how lovely,” Freddie smiled looking slightly tearful. Pregnancy had made him even more emotional than usual. 

*

Their rituals and ceremonies were often most effective when the moon was in a certain phase but according to the instructions on the bit of paper the pregnancy blessing was most effective if it happened at noon on a sunny day on the cliff top. They stood in a circle, holding hands and chanting the words on the paper.

“Do you feel any different?” Roger asked Freddie. 

Freddie shook his head. “No, but you know that isn’t really how it works.” He hugged Roger and then held out his arms to the others. “Come here, my darlings, let’s have a group hug. Thank you so much for doing this with me – for me.”

“We’re a team,” Brian muttered, as they all huddled together.

Team perhaps wasn’t quite the right word, Roger thought. But they certainly had a bond.

“We’re family,” Brian said. Roger thought he must have realised team wasn’t quite the right word either. Family was closer to it. As there had been a certain amount of in-breeding down the centuries to produce sets of Queens he supposed they were all family in some way but he knew that genetic links were not what Brian meant.

“We belong together,” John murmured.

“We do,” Roger agreed, “and we will always be there for each other,” he added firmly. 

*

Crystal clambered back into bed after settling the twins. He pulled Roger close to him. Roger mumbled something unintelligible. “I love you,” Crystal told him fiercely. He found it easier to say it in the dead of night when Roger was asleep. 

He froze as Roger replied, quite clearly this time, “I love you, too.” He felt Roger roll over and press against Crystal, his blond hair fanning out across Crystal’s chest. “You didn’t think I was awake, did you?” Roger murmured. 

“No,” Crystal agreed.

“You don’t normally say it,” Roger noted drowsily, “but you do show it. I do know, Crys.” Crystal felt him shift slightly. “Oh,” Roger breathed, “you do say it. I just don’t usually hear you?”

Crystal pressed his lips to Roger’s head and did not reply. He gently stroked Roger’s hair. Amber began to cry. “I’ll go,” he sighed. 

“No, me,” Roger said, “Because you’ve just been up.”

“Since we’re both awake perhaps we should both get up,” Crystal suggested wearily.

*

When they had first returned to the castle Roger had eyed the furniture in their rooms warily waiting for the voices to start issuing instructions but all had been quiet. Feeling slightly foolish he had thanked the voices for their help on the night of the attack on the castle. He thought he heard a faint murmur of voices telling him he was welcome.

Then, on the day Freddie’s pregnancy was confirmed, he returned to their tower and discovered that all the furniture had changed. The dark heavy wooden pieces had been replaced by more modern, much more comfortable looking pieces. 

The only original furnishings still intact were the four-poster beds in his room and Crystal’s. Roger had tentatively touched one of the carved posts on Crystal’s bed – which was where they both slept now. As he had half-expected a face appeared. “We were here to help the few fertile Queens,” the face explained, “but now the curse has been well and truly broken and there is no need for us. We did think you might like to keep one or two of us around, however, as we can also offer childcare advice?”

“That would be lovely, thank you,” Roger said. 

“We wouldn’t intrude,” the voice assured him. “If you would like help, you simply have to ask.”

“That’s very kind of you, thank you,” Roger told the face which smiled at him and faded back to become part of the intricate carvings on the post. 

He told Crystal over dinner in the great hall. Crystal made a face. “So we’ve got rid of most of the creepy furniture but are still being watched in bed?”

“I don’t think it’s like that,” Roger told him, “I think you have to kind of activate them. Anyway, I’ve always liked that bed.”

Crystal laughed. “It was certainly the only comfy item of furniture I had.”

“Perhaps I should give birth in your bed,” Freddie suggested, “so I can benefit from the advice.” 

Roger and Freddie both cackled at the look of horror on Crystal’s face. “Get your own haunted furniture,” Crystal huffed. 

*

Crystal found Roger watching the sun set from the top of their tower. He slid his arms around Roger’s waist. “I love you,” he said. 

“Ooh, while I’m awake!” Roger twisted in his arms so he could kiss Crystal. “You’re grumpy and impatient and sweet and adorable and I love you too.”

“Charming,” Crystal laughed.

“I’ve been told I am, yes,” Roger said.

Crystal snorted. “I’m rapidly forgetting why I love you,” he informed Roger. He kissed him gently.

“The girls...?” Roger breathed. 

“The girls are with Freddie and Phoebe. I thought maybe we could have a drink in peace?”

“That sounds delightful, Mr Taylor,” Roger beamed. 

Crystal went downstairs and re-emerged on the top of the tower with a picnic blanket, an ice bucket with a bottle of champagne in it and two glasses. They settled themselves on the rug on the sun-warmed roof of the tower and Crystal opened the champagne. They chimed their full glasses together. “To us,” Crystal said softly.

“To us,” Roger agreed, taking a little sip. “I’m glad you came here,” he told Crystal. 

“So am I,” Crystal nodded. “I would put it down to fate but I’ve been talking to Jim and it sounds as if some of the former Assistants and Colour Masters in The Association thought that if they gave you an opposite colour assistant it might shake things up a bit.”

“I suppose that’s fate of a sort,” Roger laughed, “And it certainly seems they were correct,” he added. He pressed his lips against Crystal’s. “You’ve made my life better in so many different ways,” he murmured. 

“Despite being grumpy, impatient and bossy,” Crystal grinned. 

“Yeah, despite all of your numerous flaws,” Roger smiled, “I wouldn’t be without you.”


End file.
